Fighting Fate- Klaroline
by melissah87
Summary: How do you fight what you were born to do? When destiny has a plan is it better to fight or play along? When darkness is approaching all powers will be necessary to survive. Will Caroline fight her destiny? How will Klaus take finding out about the secret world they live in? The characters are human or witches; not a vampire story.
1. Chapter 1

**Extended Summary**

Okay so I had a story in my head that I have been trying to write for a while, but after beginning my first fanfic I wanted to do another with the vampire diaries characters. The plot in this story will have nothing to do with show, except for character names and some personalities.

In this story, the characters are either normal humans, humans with magical abilities (or witches if you want to call them that), and it will pull in some made up mythology and legends. There will be the subject of different deities and demigods pulled in, but like I said, it won't be traditional mythology. I will also include a short character profile before beginning so nobody gets lost in the beginning and because I have to change their ages. There will also be things and phrases that are referenced from pagan terminology, so if anybody has a question, feel free to message me and I will answer them.

**Character Profiles**

Caroline- 25 years old, widow, highly adept with magical abilities, and a high priestess. She has a destiny to fulfill, but doesn't want to. She will be considered new to some people, but she is actually returning to town after becoming a widow. Bonnie and Elena will try to keep their friendship with her, but becoming a widow takes a toll on her social interactions. She will interact with Stephen the most in the beginning of the story.

Elena and Bonnie- I am writing these together because they have many similarities. They're both 25, Elena is with Damon and Bonnie is with Jeremy. They work together at the local newspaper. Elena will be a normal human with no magic abilities, but Bonnie will be a half-witch. Bonnie will not awaken her powers until later in the plot.

Damon and Stefan will both have magical abilities, but Stephen will be stronger because of a past life. Damon will be 28 and Stefan will be 26.

Tyler- Deceased throughout the story, but there will be flashbacks that include him and maybe some other surprises.

The Originals- Will not be known as the originals in this story, but will own the local club named the originals. ALL of them are alive in this story, except their parents and Henrik which were killed in a car accident. Rebecca is 20, Kol is 22, Klaus is 26, Elijah is 28, and Finn is 30. Finn lives with Sage one town away and the rest live in a mansion together. Elijah and Klaus will have the Tatia triangle occurring in the beginning of the plot. Rebecca is with Stefan and Kol will be pursuing Bonnie later.

**NO HAYLEY AT ALL!**

Katherine- 26 and is Caroline's roommate in the beginning and likes Elijah. She will also help Caroline by hiring her at her bookstore.

**Prologue (Caroline POV)**

What happens when your purpose in life is something you don't want? I never knew I was different until I was 11. With puberty came powers that scared me. I would have dreams and then later watch them happen. I could control elements to an extent, as well as other abilities that came in handy over time. I couldn't tell anyone what was happening to me because I didn't want them thinking I was crazy. I did my research and found I came from a witch line on my mother's side, but it didn't really help me since she died when I was 9. I should have noticed the little things she would do that stand out to me now. She was the sheriff of our little town, which makes sense with an affinity for protection wards. I found her hidden life on my quest for knowledge when I turned 16; I contacted her long lost brother. By then, my Dad had married his husband Steven, so he didn't protest much to me reaching out to my other side. I never told him about me, but now I wish I had. Maybe I could have prevented his death when I was 18. Her brother warned me of the dangers of having a family that did not consist entirely of witches.

If I had left right after turning 18, my father would still be alive. My husband would also be alive if I had listened to this warning. Tyler had been my anchor when my father died. He knew what I was, but he never treated me anything but normal. I warned him of what could happen, but he stayed; and even after leaving him a couple times to prevent his death, I was too weak to stay away from him.

My love for humanity has been my downfall through every life I have lived. Along with premonitions, I was also granted with the ability to see my past lives. Every life I live I get stronger, but I will not be as strong as my first life until I find my other half and bind myself with him. My first life was not human at all, but I gave it up for love. I became a mortal to be with a mortal man, and everything was wonderful until war broke out in our homeland. Our city managed to keep out our enemies for a couple weeks, and I used my abilities to help protect us. However, it wasn't enough and our walls crumbled. In the chaos I searched for my lover until I found him fighting off a swarm of enemies. I used the magic I had kept after becoming a mortal to help break through the lines, but I should have given a verbal warning before reaching him. I had been so overjoyed at seeing him alive I didn't think before grabbing his arm and pulling him to me. I didn't see the sword in his other hand, like he didn't know it wasn't an enemy that had grabbed his arm. The pain I felt ripping through my chest was nothing compared to the shock and heartbreak I saw in his eyes when recognition hit him. His fellow soldiers took over his place so he could pull me inside the closest building and lay me down. I remember the tears streaming down our faces as I took his hand and put it on the sword. I wanted him to push it the rest of the way through, but he pulled it out. He had me in his arms when enemy soldiers busted through the door and pushed him down on the other side of the room. My last moments of that life ended watching him die.

When I woke up I saw my mother. I knew I was in the afterlife, but seeing her there was a little surprising because even being a goddess, the afterlife wasn't her domain. She told me that I would repeat the same fate over and over until I finally managed to save myself, my soul mate, and still protect humanity. I needed to carry on my bloodline to protect the future. The only way to keep me alive in my lives long enough to attempt it was being born into families that were not pure blood witches. I couldn't be traced until I was an adult, but after I would have to keep myself hidden from the darkness that threatened our world. It made sense then because my role as her daughter had been a protector of humanity and innocence, but in my current life I was pushing my luck.

I was older than my past lives had been when I died, my magic was taking a toll on my physical being, and I had yet to cross paths with my other half in this life. After living past my 22nd birthday, I was shocked. I had never lived past 21, but this was the modern era and my free will decided to change my destiny. I hadn't met my soul mate yet, so I decided to not seek him out. I was in love with Tyler and we decided to get married. I thought I could avoid destiny, but it came crashing back in my life on our 2nd anniversary. Tyler was not my other half, but I loved him. I wish now that I would have stayed away from him. What nobody knew was that Tyler wasn't the only person I had lost that night. He had taken me on a romantic date and I had revealed that we were going to be parents. Since I was having a round of nausea from the pregnancy, Tyler decided to drive. Had he been a witch, he would have seen the dark figures in the road that night. They rushed us before I could even scream. I saw them manipulate him into flipping the car. He had been possessed, but he was fighting on the inside. I saw the terror in his eyes when our car left the roadway; I also saw his life fade when we came to a painful stop against the tree line. When I saw him die, my powers burst out and chased away the figures. I fell unconscious and awoke in the hospital. I remember wishing I had died when I could feel liquid leaving me between my legs. I didn't have to page a nurse or doctor to know that I had miscarried during the accident. I remember the doctor asking who he could contact before I broke down realizing I had no one to call anymore.

That's how I ended up moving back here to my hometown. It was the only thing I had left besides my magic. I managed to move everything back into my childhood home, but it was difficult being alone again. My friend Elena had given me her sister's number so I could have a roommate. My old friends tried to give me comfort, but I tried my best to keep my feelings closed off. Katherine, Elena's sister, had been nice enough to get me a job working at her bookstore, in exchange for giving her a place to stay. It worked out nicely for a while, but like I've said, destiny has a way of creeping back into our lives.


	2. Chapter 2

**Home**

_"Alright, I get that you aren't exactly the same social butterfly you used to be in school and that you've been through a lot, but tonight you are going out with me." _Katherine said as she threw herself on the couch next to Caroline.

_"Now, why would I want to go out? And what are you getting at when you say I'm not social? I work in your bookstore. I see people every day."_

_"Yes, you see them, but you never go out for fun."_

_"I go out with Stefan and Damon all of the time."_

_"Yea, but you aren't dating them. And don't you think their girlfriends are getting a little jealous of the time they spend with you?"_

_"I've known Elena forever and she knows that I have no interest in Damon Salvatore whatsoever, but I don't know Stefan's and I don't have anything but brotherly thoughts about him. I don't date for a reason Katherine, and I would be happy never dating again."_

_"Well you don't have to date to come with me tonight. Besides, Stefan and Damon will both be there anyway. Stefan's girlfriend is one of the owners of the club we are going to. Besides, its rock night, and I know you like that kind of music."_

_"What are the chances of you getting off my case about this?"_

_"None now go get ready and don't forget your bag. I know you are going to consume a ton of alcohol and you might need it. I still don't know how you don't die every time your heart acts up or why you would push your luck drinking, but I will stick with your wishes and butt out."_

_"Do you need any clothes to blend in with us depressed or angry people?"_

_"Maybe your leather pants?"_

_"Fine, I was going with my skinny jeans and boots anyway." _Caroline replied as she stood to head to her room. Getting ready didn't take too long for her anymore. She barely used make-up anymore; just the main essentials and she pulled her curly hair up off her shoulders for a ponytail. She put on her long-sleeved black and gray striped shirt and matched it with her black skinny jeans and her lace up boot heels. Every time she looked in the mirror, she couldn't help but remember how she had been before Tyler had died. She would always dress up in dresses and designer clothes have her nails done and hair perfect. She didn't see a point in keeping up that appearance anymore. So, with a sigh, she grabbed her leather pants and walked to Katherine's room. _"Here you go Kat. Just don't ruin them like the last pair I loaned you."_

_"Oh come on… How was I supposed to know my date would rip my clothes off that night?"_

_"What about whatever date you pick up tonight?"_

_"I don't plan on it; this is going to be the equivalent of a girls night for us. I will not be having male company tonight. The only guys I will likely talk to tonight are Damon and Stefan anyway."_

_"Katherine not having male company tonight… sounds like you found someone you like to me."_

_"Yea well he doesn't even see me like that, so I will not be pursuing. And don't try to guess who it is because you don't know him. He's been sneaking around with his brother's girlfriend and I've been trying to help him figure out how to either stop or come clean about it without ruining his relationship with his brother."_

_"Wow. That's all kinds of crazy. Isn't he worried about how the girl is using his brother?"_

_"Yes, but he doesn't want to be the one that tell him. He loves his brother, but he's afraid he'll push him away with this."_

_"I would go with the truth. It may push them apart for a while, but I'm sure the brother would appreciate the honesty and love from his brother over whatever excuse the girl comes up with."_

_"That's what I thought, but the brother has been through a lot and is head over heels for this girl. I know the girl and she's a tramp, so she would probably turn it around to play herself as the victim."_

_"Who started the affair?"_

_"The girl did. He was depressed for a while and she played the shoulder to cry on. Her excuse to her boyfriend was that she wanted to help his brother like she did him. They lost some of their family a while back and everyone took it hard."_

_"Oh my god, that girl sounds disgusting. How can someone exploit someone's feelings like that?"_

_"I don't know, but that isn't even half of it. I know some things about that whole mess that I can't talk about right now. I haven't even told him everything I know yet; I don't think I can because I don't know all of the details."_

_"I don't even want to know. It sounds like one big pit of drama, and after the last couple years, I don't want involved in anything like that."_

_"I understand that completely. I got roped in on it, but I'll let you know what happens when it's all settled if you want."_

_"Sure. I hope the brothers will be fine in the end. Family is everything, and neither of them should take it for granted. I'd say they both ditch the girl, but it's not my business."_

_"That's my opinion too, so I'll let you know how it all turns out. Although, I'd say you'll probably see everything and not realize it."_

_"What makes you say that?"_

_"Just a hunch. Now, come on lets go." _Katherine replied as she jumped up, pulling Caroline along with her. _"You know, it wouldn't hurt you to smile sometime. That's my new goal; find something to get a smile out of you."_

_"Give up now Kat; that isn't going to happen. I've not smiled in almost 3 years, and I don't see that changing."_

_"Oh, I'll see it someday. And NOT one of them fake smiles you give our customers at the shop or to me either. A real smile and I hopefully have a camera ready."_

_"Let's just go so we can get back. We have to get up in the morning you know." _Caroline urged so the subject would drop. Katherine had called a cab since she knew they both would be drunk before the night was over. Too bad they had to work on Saturdays or they wouldn't worry about it as much.

_"Oh come one, liven up. Not only will Stefan and Damon be there, but Elena, Bonnie, and Jeremy will be there."_

_"I thought Bonnie and Elena hated most rock songs?"_

_"Oh they do, but their boyfriends don't, so they're going so they can keep an eye on their dates."_

_"Will the guy you like be there?"_

_"Most likely, but he would likely avoid me if the tramp is in the vicinity, so I'd say you won't get to meet him."_

_"I wasn't asking because of that; I was asking because I don't want your mind to wonder off and leave me there to watch you stare at him all night."_

_"Touché, but I promise I won't. Besides, I have to make sure you are okay if you have an episode."_

_"Second thoughts go ahead and stare at him all night. Maybe I'll get lucky and get to sneak out early." _

_"Once you see this place, you won't want to leave. It's awesome and the bartenders don't limit the customers unless they start a fight."_

_"I'll make my own opinion after tonight." _Caroline sassed as she turned to stare out the taxi window. She used to love going out to clubs, but after figuring out that public places usually have a few creatures that she had to fight attending, she started hating it. It made her magic side of life easier when she had to track down entities, but she couldn't ever really enjoy herself clubbing anymore. "Please let me have one night free of fighting" was all she thought on the way to the club.


	3. Chapter 3

**At THE ORIGINALS Bar**

The music was blaring when the girls entered the club. Caroline automatically recognized the sounds of My Darkest Days Save Me coming from the speakers. It wasn't necessarily their hardest song, but she liked it anyway. She couldn't help but feel it was a little ironic in her life. Katherine was already leading her to the bar, where she asked the bartender for a fifth of whiskey. He looked at her curiously before giving a small laugh and handing her the bottle. Katherine gave her order and the bartender looked back at Caroline.

_"Please tell me she isn't drinking that whole bottle by herself." _The bartender spoke as he handed her a drink.

_"Matt, you remember Caroline from school? She isn't a light weight, and yes the whole bottle is for her, but she will not even be bothered until she's on her third bottle, so don't start." _Katherine argued.

_"Caroline? Caroline Forbes?" _Matt asked.

_"Yes."_ Katherine and Caroline replied simultaneously and looked at each other.

_"I've not seen you in years. I didn't even recognize you. How have you been?" _Matt asked Caroline, but all she did was shrug her shoulders and start slugging down her drink. She finished off her first bottle in one tilt before handing him back the bottle.

_"Give me another one and then I might answer that a little better. We used to be friends, so I don't want to be rude to you. I'm just not the Caroline you remember, so don't get upset if I don't answer any specific questions."_

_"How many of these do you intend to drink tonight?" _He asked as he handed her another bottle.

_"Three or four. I don't know yet, so cut me off at five if I don't stop."_

_"God Caroline, are you trying to give yourself alcohol poisoning?"_

_"I can handle it Matt. I asked for a cut off so I won't have too much of a hangover for work tomorrow."_

_"I take it you drink a lot?"_

_"Yep, so don't worry about me. I can hold my own and I'll be able to walk out of here tonight. Now if I went further than the cutoff I would be stumbling or getting carried out."_

_"When did this start?"_

_"Almost 3 years ago and don't ask why. That's one subject we aren't going into. So, how has life been treating you?"_

_"Okay and good. I just got married about 6 months ago and we found out we are going to be having a baby in about 8 months."_

_"That's good for you Matt. Hold on to them with everything you have. And on second thoughts, screw the cut off." _She said before chugging the second bottle straight down. He didn't have to ask; she looked at him and he took the empty bottle before giving her a new one.

_"Hey Caroline, I see everybody. Let's go say hi for a bit. Maybe get a bottle of vodka for the girls or something." _Katherine interjected quickly

_"Sure. Matt I need another bottle for me and a fifth of vodka for our table." _Caroline told Matt. When they had everything, they made their way through the crowd to their friends. There were people there that Caroline didn't recognize, but she decided to just ignore them unless they spoke directly to her. She hoped they would overlook her or ignore her, but she doubted it. Hey said hey to Bonnie and Elena first, but both of them were more wrapped up in each other.

_"Hey Blondie, you ready for Saturday?" _Damon asked Caroline. She rolled her eyes and nodded before chugging more of her drink. _"Listen Caroline, I don't want to pack your drunken ass out of here later so I hope you gave a cut-off."_

_"Well I did, but I changed my mind. Don't worry about me Damon. It's just one of those days that aren't going to get better, so I might as well ignore it."_

_"Caroline, what happened?" _Stefan asked as he caught her mood.

_"Oh I was talking to Matt and it reminded me of how fucked up life is sometimes."_

_"You need to keep your head up tonight. Look around and tell me what you see." _Stefan instructed. She huffed and did as he said. She noticed there were a few individuals that were cloaked in darkness. She could see it shimmer in and out of focus as they mingled with other people.

_"You have got to be kidding me. All I ask is for one night… just one night to myself that I don't have to be me. Is it too much to ask?" _She thought out loud.

_"Maybe they won't try anything tonight?" _Stefan piped in with a hopeful voice.

_"Oh Stefan, you know my luck. That isn't going to happen. Well, I might as well start thinking of a plan. You guys up for it?"_

_"We're with ya Blondie. You save and we'll erase?" _Damon asked.

_"Like always. Watch for my signal and follow me. I might need back up later. For now I'm going to sit here, drink, and do surveillance."_

_"Well, why don't we do introductions? My girlfriend will be heading over here in a minute because she saw us talking. She thinks something is going on with the three of us. I keep telling her that you're like our little sister and our high priestess, but she doesn't believe me." _Stefan spoke.

_"Stefan, I don't want in on any drama. And why would you mention I'm your high priestess? Does she know what we are?"_

_"I told her we were pagans, and that is true in a sense, but I didn't tell her all of it. I want to protect her from all this."_

_"Stefan, take my advice. It's going to turn out 2 ways for you with her. Either she knows and accepts or she doesn't. You can't risk exposing everyone and you can't risk her life. Take it from me when I say that losing the person you love because of this life will hurt more than letting her go and her living. Think about it; Tyler knew what I was and accepted it, but he still died. I can't protect everyone and neither can you."_

_"Caroline, I know you're still hurting, but I am going to tell her soon. If she accepts me for this, I am going to ask her to marry me."_

_"Well, I hope everything works better for you than it has for me. I don't want anyone to feel this pain except those who deserve it; you don't."_

_"Well, here she comes. She looks like she wants to kill me so I suggest we start talking about the full moon ritual for Saturday."_

_"Fine. Which one of us is bringing the supplies this time?"_

_"That would be me Blondie. You did it last time and Stefan did it the time before that, so it's my turn. With the Yule coming up, we have to coordinate with the nearby coven to see what we plan on this year and where."_

_"Well my house is too small to fit everyone, so I would suggest you guy's house. It would fit out trio and the nearby coven. It would also be a good time to coordinate the next event so we don't get stuck doing everything last minute again."_

_"Who are you?" _Rebekah asked as she approached the three.

_"Rebekah that is Caroline. So, don't automatically assume the worst of her. I told you, she's a high priestess, and we were just talking about the next few events we have to do."_

_"Stefan, I was asking her who she was. I'm pretty sure she can speak for herself."_

_"I was going to, but Stefan pretty much covered it. If you don't believe any of us, ask Elena or Katherine. I live with Katherine and Elena is dating Damon. And since you don't know me, I'll take it easy on you and not argue with you. I know you're worried about how I know Stefan, but I've known him since Kindergarten. I don't have feeling towards him except ones I would have for a brother. So, before you start acting like its wrong for me to be around him because you're dating him, just think about that."_

_"I don't trust you around him. You look like the type that's hiding something."_

_"I don't have to explain my life to you Rebekah. I wouldn't do that to anyone, but you don't know me, so you wouldn't know that. I'll give you the short version though; I was born here, I grew up here, everyone I've talked to tonight I've known since I was a child, I'm a high priestess so I'm bound to my duties to protect people, and I moved back here after an accident that happened. And let me tell you something else… when I say I protect people, that means I wouldn't let either of you hurt each other."_

_"Well, I still don't trust you. I don't care what your duties are, and I don't care what your life is like. Stay away from my boyfriend. Get your own."_

_"It's a little hard to stay away from him when he's in my coven, but I can agree to not see him any other time unless it's an accident."_

_"Well, maybe he shouldn't be in your coven either. He can join another coven if he wants, but I want him away from you. Let me ask you something. What was this accident that forced you to move back here? It had to be something big to uproot your life."_

_"Rebekah sister, what are you doing over here?" _a British accent asked. Caroline looked over at the guy. He had a girl with him that was twirling her drink around in her hand.

_"Well Nik, I was telling this slut to stay away from my boyfriend." _Rebekah supplied without taking her eyes off Caroline.

_"Listen here Rebekah, call Blondie a slut again and you have to worry about having my brother as a boyfriend. She is like our sister and I won't have her called that. You don't even know here, but I do, and I can tell you she has never once made a pass at him or me for that matter. She's telling the truth. You may want to back down before you say something that you'll regret."_

_"I'm not going to regret anything I say to that bitch, and Damon, my relationship with your brother is none of your business."_

_"Damon, I'll see you guys Saturday. I'm not even going to waste my breathe on this." _Caroline spoke to Damon quickly. She knew he was on the verge of losing his temper. Elena had noticed too and was heading over with Bonnie, Jeremy, and Katherine in tow. When he nodded, she grabbed her bottle and walked away.

_"Damon, I don't know what is going on, but I will not allow you to talk to Rebekah like that. All I know is I came over to see what my sister was doing and found her about to start a fight. Now, I suggest you guys settle this quickly." _

_"Well Klaus, your sister came over while we were talking about the full moon ritual and started giving the crazy eyes. Caroline is on her 3__rd__ fifth of whiskey and doesn't take it well when she hears that people think she's doing something she's not. She attempted to explain how she knew my brother to give your sister some peace of mind, but Rebekah wouldn't back down."_

_"Damn right I'm not backing down. I don't trust her, and Stefan wouldn't say a word after the bitch started talking."_

_"Well Bekah I'm talking now. Do you really want to know why you have nothing to worry about? Because she's not like that; never has been and she's been through a lot. She would never cause someone pain like that."_

_"Oh so she's been cheated on? Is that the accident she referred to? What happened? Did her boyfriend leave her for another tramp? Or did she cheat on him?"_

_"Did you not hear what I said Bekah? I just said she's never done that and the accident is not my story to tell. She wasn't cheated on, but she has lost someone. She's lost everyone close to her and she didn't deserve that. So, please back off on this."_

_"And if I don't?"_

_"Well that's where I come in."_

_"What do you want Katherine? This is a private discussion and none of your business."_

_"Actually it kind of is my business. Caroline is my roommate and I'm the one who has seen her every day since I moved in her house months ago. She never goes out unless she's doing her pagan stuff or to work. I had to drag her here tonight or she would be at home blaring music and reading. I refuse to stand here and let you talk bad about her when you don't even know her. All she wants to do is get by every day in as little pain as she possibly can. Why is it so hard to doubt that in her? Did she look like she's throwing herself at anybody tonight? No, she wasn't. She doesn't date, she doesn't screw around, and she doesn't even get involved in anybody's gossip for crying out loud. She won't have anything to do with anybody enough to establish any kind of relationship beyond a platonic one."_

_"What Katherine is trying to say is that we all grew up with her. She's not a threat to you, so don't treat her like one. She's been through enough, just leave her alone." _Elena jumped in to stand up for her longtime friend.

_"I don't care how long you've all known her. I don't want her around Stefan. So, Stefan, it's either you stop being around her or you lose me."_

_"Rebekah, you really want to go down that route? Klaus, if you're girlfriend made you choose between her and your sister, who would you choose?"_

_"Well mate, this isn't my choice, and that girl isn't really your sister."_

_"She might as well be my sister. I've claimed her as my sister since the second grade. Her father had her stay with us after her mother died so he could prepare the funeral and get a schedule fixed to include her in his life. Even then, she was at our house more times than not because of our beliefs and because she was family by then. She's lost all of her actual family, so why is she not my sister? And technically, since she's the high priestess of our coven, she is my sister."_

_"Oh please! I can't believe it. You're actually trying to argue your way out of this. How about I choose for you, since I already know what is going through your head. Choose the home wrecking whore because we're through."_

_"Bekah, I didn't choose. But, guess what. I've been carrying this around for the last months. I guess you can have it and do whatever you want with it since you think you know everything." _Stefan said in tears as he handed her the box with the ring he had picked out to ask her to marry him. Then he turned and walked away from her. She tried to grab him, but he just pulled his arm away.

_"That was another thing we were discussing Rebekah. He hadn't picked a date to ask yet, but I know we would have helped him. And seeing that she is our high priestess, she would have been the one to do the hand fasting before your actually wedding. We know your beliefs are not the same as ours, and that's okay, but you were actually going to get 2 weddings." _Damon added before walking away to get his brother and head home.

_"Nik, how could you stand there and let them do that to me? I swear I'm going to make that girl wish she had never been born after this."_

_"Oh little sister, I think you have bigger problems than that girl. I don't think they were lying about how they see each other. They reacted the same way I would about you."_

_"And I know they weren't lying. We've been her sisters the same as they've been her brothers. She didn't have any blood siblings, so friends became them. I would think you would appreciate family after everything you guys went through, but I guess not. But, let me tell you something. She didn't just lose her family. She didn't run away out of shame either. She's not the same as she used to be I will say that. She used to always smile through everything and was happy at one time. Now, she's still the same girl at heart, but she doesn't smile, she doesn't laugh, she doesn't watch her health, and she doesn't care about life anymore. She's just going through the motions so nobody notices that she's spiraling. Well, I live with her. I see how she is every day and I'm afraid for her. Now, I'm going to go home and make sure she took her medicine in her alcoholic state."_

_"What medicine?" _Klaus asked. He didn't know why he asked, but he couldn't stop himself from asking.

_"That's a rather long list. Let's just say her health isn't that great and the amount of alcohol she drunk tonight might cause a reaction. I just hope she didn't stop off at the liquor store before heading home because I'm not that great at giving her a shot when her heart tries to fail." _Katherine shot off with a glare to Rebekah. Then she turned and stomped off. Elena and Bonnie started tearing up and Rebekah looked to them to try and get more information out of them. Klaus let his girlfriend wander off and followed his sister. Jeremy was headed toward his sister and girlfriend with their stuff. Everyone was trying to leave before someone said too much. It wasn't Rebekah's business to pry into Caroline's health or past.

_"Well Elena, why doesn't someone explain what makes her so fucking important that I just lost Stefan. Also, what the bloody hell if wrong with the girl that makes her drink so much if she's got heart problems?"_

_"Is it really your business? She wasn't trying to get in on your territory. If something happens to her, none of us will bother with you anymore. Keep that in mind the next time you think you know something that isn't real." _Elena said walking off. Bonnie's phone started ringing and she froze when she saw Katherine's name. Elena noticed when she looked back and came running back. Bonnie answered and put it on speaker.

_"Hello?"_

**"Did Caroline come back? She's not home and I've already called Stefan and Damon; they haven't seen her either."**

_"No, she hasn't come back. We haven't seen her since she left. Where could she have gone? Go check the bookstore. You know she disappears there sometimes."_

**"Not at this time at night. If she went off somewhere, she's probably trying to avoid us. You know she won't sit around and let us talk to her. Okay think Bonnie… if you were Caroline where would you go?"**

_"Where no one would find me. So that means she could be at the falls, in the woods, halfway out of town, or just walking around. Check the park, I'll check the falls, call Stefan and Damon and have them check in the woods where they have their rituals."_

**"Someone should be at the house in case she comes home. Who are we going to get to do that?"**

_"Elena can do that. She's here with me now. Have everyone keep their phones on and with them. Where's the med kit?"_

**"She had it with her in her purse. There are spare supplies at the house, but I suggest we all start there and get some before we go searching. Any of us can find her and she will freak if she has to go to the hospital."**

_"Fine, we'll all meet you there." _Bonnie quickly hung up and grabbed Jeremy.

_"Wait! We're coming with you." _Klaus spoke as he grabbed Rebekah by the arm. _"This all started because you felt jealous of this girl, so we are going to go help. And don't try to get out of it. It was amusing at first, but the more I hear the more I think you should have let it go."_

_"Nik you can't be serious! She's after Stefan, I can feel it."_

_"Bloody hell Rebekah, if that girl dies tonight, it's on you. Don't you understand that?"_

_"It's not my fault she's an alcoholic with health problems."_

_"No, but you started an argument with a depressed alcoholic in our bar. Did you not think about the consequences for the rest of this family?"_

_"Fine, I'll go, but I'm not going to tolerate that attention whore."_

_"I didn't say you had to, but you can help our mutual friends find someone they care about." _He stated as he pulled her behind everyone out of the bar.


	4. Chapter 4

**Caroline POV (In the Woods)**

She didn't know how long she had been out there and she really didn't care. She just wanted to be alone after the way her night had gone. She wandered past the area that circles were conducted. She knew the trail extended down to a little pond that she used to swim in with Stefan and Damon, so she followed it. It was a little grown over with weeds, but she remembered the path. She noticed the little dock that they would jump off of and laid down on it to stare at the stars. It was hard to see the stars with the snow clouds looming over her head, so she closed her eyes and thought back on her past. She remembered swimming there in the summer and ice skating in the winter. She sat up and looked out at the water. Even though it was December, the pond hadn't frozen over yet. She guessed it would be January before it froze. She lay back down and pulled her coat tighter. It may not be cold enough to freeze the pond, but it was still freezing outside. She knew she should get back home, but she didn't want to have to hear Katherine telling her how she should have handled the situation at the bar. She also didn't want to feel anymore. So, she sat back up and finished off the last of her whiskey. She knew she was way past her normal intake, but she was tired of caring about it. She could feel sleep tugging at her so she lay back down. She knew it was probably a bad idea, but the pull was too strong.

She laid there for over an hour fighting sleep before she tried to get up. She ended up scooting backwards until she made it back to the beginning of the dock. She looked around for her purse, but realized she must have left it near the altar at the circle. She stood up to dust herself off when the pain hit. She felt her heart jump as it skipped beats and felt the air leave her lungs as she collapsed back to the ground. She knew she wouldn't make it to her purse so she closed her eyes and tried to speak through her pain. She found that all she could do was whisper.

_"Air, I invoke thee, come into me. Spirit, I invoke thee, come into me. Air, keep me breathing. Spirit, keep my heart pumping. Fire, I invoke thee, come to me. Fire, keep me warm to regulate my blood flow. Element that I bring to me, keep me alive, so mote it be."_

She felt the elements respond to her call, but it didn't keep the pain away. In her weakened state, she could barely hold the elements with her. She opened her eyes to try and look for anything that could help her. She spotted her phone lying on the ground and figured it fell out of her pocket. She knew she couldn't talk, so she decided to text. She pulled Damon's contact up. She knew he drove and ran the fastest, so he would be the best bet. She could barely see the screen as she typed.

**Need kit at pond.**

She managed to hit send before another round of pain racked her body and she started screaming and convulsing against the pain. It became unbearable and she passed out.

**Damon, Stephen, Klaus, and Rebekah POV**

_"Damon your phone just went off." _ Klaus said from the passenger seat. Him and Damon were in the front because Rebekah had insisted Stefan sit with her to try and talk things out.

_"Well get to it, I'm driving." _Damon replied.

_"It says 'need kit at pond'. Where is that at?"_

_"Who sent it?"_

_"Caroline."_

_"Oh my god Damon step on it. She wouldn't ask for help unless she already started having an episode." _Stefan said in a panic.

_"I know Stefan, I'm already speeding. We're almost there. When we get there, hand me the kit, and I will take off running. You guys try to keep up."_

_"What do you mean running?" _Rebekah asked.

_"The pond is at the end of a trail. We can only drive to our house. After that, we have to take a trail to where our circle is and then we have to take another trail from there to get to the pond. I can run it in like 3 minutes so I'm going to run ahead of you guys."_

_"I'm not running."_

_"If you walk the trail, it will take you too long to get there and we aren't waiting on you!" _Damon shouted back. _"Klaus, dial her phone. I want her to at least hear it ringing so she knows we're on our way." _Damon requested as Klaus hit the call button. He put it on speaker so everyone could hear it ringing. Each time it got to voicemail, he called back. He figured she would pick up, but she never did. Stefan and Damon were quickly on their ways to panicking or crying, so Klaus stopped putting it on speaker. He reached voicemail over and over and decided to actually listen to the greeting for once. He didn't know why, but he blamed it on curiosity.

**It's Caroline. Leave a message.**

It had to be the shortest greeting for a female that he had ever heard, and her voice sounded lifeless. He cringed at the mental picture he was having. He knew he would be able to keep up with Damon, so he turned to give an idea to Stefan.

_"Stefan, Rebekah won't be able to run and I don't know the way without either of you. I'll run with Damon to help him if you help Rebekah get there."_

_"You don't have to do that. She's our sister; our friend. It's our responsibility as her brothers to help her."_

_"I know I don't, but we aren't much help if we get lost trying to keep up with you guys. Just tell me what to expect when I get there. I know a little first aid, so I can help her, and since I don't know her I won't be emotional over it."_

_"If she has too much stress or uses too much energy, she gets chest pains. Her heart starts skipping beats as it tries to stop. She also has asthma, so every time her heart starts acting up, she loses her breath and it brings on an asthma attack. What you have to do is give her the shot for her lungs in her thigh to open her airways, and you have to give her an adrenaline shot to pick up her heart rate. That one had to go straight through her chest and into her heart. If she crashes back you have to do CPR and call 911. Damon knows more about it since he has studied medicine a little more."_

_"Has she always been like that?"_

_"It started when were in middle school. She was doing a cheerleading competition and collapsed screaming. Nobody knew what was going on and thought she just fell. I remember us running to her and she kept trying to say what was wrong. Her coach started checking her for injuries, but couldn't find any. Caroline grabbed the coach's hand and pulled it to her chest. She was gasping for air by then and losing her color. The coach called 911 and we later found out that her heart had tried to fail and it triggered an asthma attack. She's been dealing with it ever since and it gets worse as she gets older. She loves athletics, so she refused to quit. Her doctor put her on a regimen of different medications to try and prevent further attacks, but like I said, it's only getting worse. You know she lost her family, but what you don't know is that she was married. He died almost 3 years ago and ever since then, she's been drinking herself into oblivion almost every night. So, she came back here so she could have a reason to live. Me, Damon, Bonnie, Elena, Jeremy, and Katherine are the only reasons she tries anymore. We've tried to get her to move on, but she doesn't want to. Hell, before I got with your sister, me and Damon used to look for guys for her, but she would always say she was married. She says it like he's still alive. In her mind, she is still married, and she has no intention of changing it. We gave up on that a long time ago. Now, we're just trying to make sure she's content with her life and her health stays strong enough to keep her alive. Maybe one day she'll pull out of this rut she's in, but I think losing Tyler was the last straw for her. I don't even know why I just said all of that."_

_"I'm not going to say anything mate. You're afraid of losing her; I get it. If it was Rebekah I would be the same way. I'm assuming that losing her husband is the accident that you all were referring to earlier?"_

_"Yes. They were driving home from having dinner for their anniversary when Tyler lost control of the vehicle. They flipped several times before their car landed against a tree. He died during the crash and she was in the hospital for almost a month."_

_"Stefan, I'm sorry I threw a fit at the bar. I didn't know all of that." _Rebekah finally spoke up. She looked like she felt guilty for saying anything.

_"It wasn't just you. She ran into Matt at the bar and as they were catching up, he mentioned he had gotten married and had a baby on the way. Caroline and Tyler had been trying to get pregnant before he died. She's happy for Matt, but it was already making her have thoughts about Tyler when you came up and started on her."_

_"I really am sorry Stefan. I should have just listened to you. I just thought she was taking you away from me."_

_"Rebekah, you didn't trust me. I told you the truth and by making assumptions about her, you were calling me a liar. It's not me who you should apologize to. When I told Caroline what you thought, she didn't even blink. She just looked tired. I knew when she left tonight that something was going to happen to her. She was trying to stop the fight and protect us both from each other. She knew if we kept fighting, it would only end in heartbreak. You wouldn't listen to her, so she gave up and walked away. Do you want to know why she gave up? Because she knew I was going to propose to you and it was her way of giving me her blessing and leaving my life. Sure, I'll see her at the rituals, but she won't talk to me again. I just lost my sister because of your jealousy, and she just lost another person in her life. Sure, she still has the rest of us, but I was the closest to her growing up. So, excuse me if I don't want to hear you apologize to me. When you sort this out with her, then we'll talk."_

_"He's right Rebekah. I don't know this girl and you're my sister, but listening to everything makes sense to me. I'm sure we haven't heard everything, but as it is, I think you should talk to her. Now, we're almost to the house, so Stefan are you going to walk my sister to the pond or are me and her going to end up lost trying to keep up with you two?"_

_"I'll take care of your sister if you take care of mine."_

_"I'll help whatever way I can. You've been a good friend and I hope she's alright for both of your sakes tonight."_

_"We're here." _Damon interrupted as he reached into the backseat for the medical supplies. Rebekah managed to grab them before Stefan and handed then to Damon. Damon shot out of the car and didn't even shut his door. Stefan shut it as he passed to go around the car. Damon and Klaus were at a full run. Klaus knew he was a faster runner than Damon, but without knowing the way, he stayed directly behind him. Rebekah actually kept a sort of jog going to try and help Stefan get there faster, but it was difficult in heels. When she and Stefan got to the circle area, she noticed a purse. She grabbed Stefan and showed him. He grabbed her arm and started leading the way to the pond at a faster pace.

Klaus and Damon managed to get to the pond rather quick and Damon slid as he came up on Caroline passed out on the ground. Damon rolled her on her back and checked her airway. He positioned her to get the most air before he got the first shot ready. He reached over and jabbed it in her outer thigh. He leaned down to listen for her breathing, but he barely felt it. He checked her pulse to see how bad it had dropped and pulled away starting to panic. With shaking hands, he got the next shot ready. He was shaking so bad, he couldn't aim the needle, so Klaus reached his hand out. Damon didn't even hesitate before handing it over and moving to hold her shoulders down. He knew she came up with a jolt sometimes and he didn't want her to break the needle. Klaus couldn't keep the shirt out of the way and aim the needle, so he took the top part of her shirt and ripped it enough to stay out of the way. Damon pointed where the needle had to hit and braced himself again. If this didn't work, she would have to go back to the hospital. Her skin was already losing color and her skin was ice cold. Klaus took a breath before jabbing the needle into her chest and shooting the medicine in. She jerked slightly but didn't open her eyes. Klaus pulled the needle out and checked her pulse. He could feel that her heart was still skipping some, but it seemed to be picking back up. Her breathing increased as well, but she still didn't wake up. Damon stood up and ripped his shirt and jacket off. He covered her in the jacket and ran to the pond to dunk his shirt in the freezing water. He ran back and wrung it out over her face. She only managed to twitch. Klaus lifted her up by her shoulders and sat behind her to start rubbing her shoulders to get the blood pumping and warm her up with body heat. Damon noticed what he was doing and started rubbing her legs. They noticed Stefan and Rebekah breaking through the trees as they kept working.

_"Stefan call 911! She's not waking up!" _Damon hollered.

_"Wait! Her heartbeat is picking up and I can hear her breathing. Give me a minute before you call." _Klaus yelled.

_"It will take them forever to get here. I'm not wasting that time!" Stefan screamed back._

_"Stefan, come here and help me. Rebekah call 911 and let them know we need them and then let everyone else know what happened." _Damon interrupted before there could be another fight. Klaus and Rebekah watched the brothers as they started calling on magical abilities to help them while they kept busy trying to get her awake. Stefan's control finally snapped as he grabbed her by the shoulders and started shaking her.

_"Wake up Caroline! You have to wake up!" _he cried. He only stopped shaking her long enough to give a tap to her cheek. He laid her back against Klaus and pulled her eyelids open. He didn't see any sign of her waking up and dropped to the ground beside them. He picked up her hand and started begging. _"Please fight Caroline. I know you can hear me in there somewhere. Wake your ass up now. You aren't a quitter Caroline! Now FIGHT Caroline, FIGHT! Wake up! Please please please! Wake up Caroline!"_

_"Stefan you aren't helping her! Now help me get her warm and get her blood moving!" _Damon hollered to pull him out of his trance. _"I feel exactly the same way, but we can't beg her back. Her heart is still beating, she is still breathing. She IS fighting. She just has to keep it up until she wakes up. This is just a closer call than usual, so please help us. If her heart fails again before the paramedics get here, she's gone. So find something to focus on and use it. She's fighting, so we have to fight with her; for her."_

_"The paramedics are on their way and so is everyone else. Jeremy is going to stay at the boarding house and lead them here. The girls are already coming through the woods." _Rebekah said as she went to sit on the other side of Caroline. She looked at Stefan before glancing down at Caroline. She felt awful at how she had treated her and made up her mind to actually try and get to know her. She was wondering how long Caroline would have to go through nights like that before it was too much and she passed. She looked up as she heard the girls making their way through the trees. She stood back up and went to sit next to Stefan as Katherine was making her way to where Rebekah had sat.

_"Come on Caroline. Just hold on a little longer. Help is coming. I don't know if you can hear me, but I am going to make plans for us to have an actual girls night; I real one. I know you don't care about that kind of stuff anymore, but you used to. You are not leaving me in your creepy house all by myself. Besides, I need you at the store. Who else is going to go OCD on all those books? Who else is going to be there to listen to me complain about everything? I know you're hurting, but you can't give up. You've helped me so much since you came back. You think you're a burden, I know, but you're not. Even when you think you don't feel anymore, you help everyone, and you make us feel better. I know we don't do enough back, but I promise I will be there. Please wake up." _Katherine was crying by the time she finished talking. She looked up and saw the flashing lights over the tree lines and knew the ambulance had made it to the boarding house. It wouldn't be too long before the EMTs would come through the tree line. Katherine felt Caroline twitch in her hand and looked down as she started convulsing.

_"She's going into a seizure. Shit! Hold on to her tight Klaus!" _Damon instructed as he put his weight down on her legs. Katherine leaned over her chest to grab her mouth to keep her from biting her tongue. She couldn't unclench her mouth from the straining, so she got up on her knees to get a better angle. She noticed the paramedics running towards them.

_"She just started having a seizure!" _Katherine screamed.

_"Here is what I just gave her, and this is her normal medications." _Damon spoke as he maneuvered his way to the supplies while keeping his weight on her. The EMTs looked over the medications and took out a vial and syringe. After giving her the shot, they started hooking up an oxygen mask to her face and inserting an IV. Klaus didn't stop restraining her until she was hooked up and the paramedics had her hooked to a gurney. He watched as they worked on her, and was surprised at how his muscles were aching from having to restrain her. She was definitely stronger than she looked. He twisted around so he could stand when he heard her scream. Everyone stood still as she started coming awake and screaming in pain. The EMTs were having difficulty holding her down, so the guys rushed over to help. The wind started picking up and the trees were bending. Clouds came over the sky quickly, and Stefan and Damon exchanged a glance. The monitor that Caroline was hooked to started beeping irregularly showing her heart's skipped beats as she lost her breath and couldn't scream. "_It's happening again. She can't have another shot. If she flatlines, you have to shock her."_

_"We know that. Damon, if you forget, I was the one that got the call the first time this happened. I hoped she would grow out of it, but I guess I was wrong. Come on Miss Forbes, keep up the fight. I'm not going to be the one to bring another Forbes into the morgue." _The paramedic spoke. Damon gave a grim face as he remembered both Caroline's first episode and the death of her mother. Elena came up to him and wrapped her arms around him as they both fell to the ground crying. Stefan followed soon after and Rebekah ran to him. Another round of pain had Caroline breaking the strap with her arm that had the IV. Klaus reacted quickly and grabbed it to hold her down. Everyone heard the monitor start beeping rapidly before making one long continuous beep. Klaus looked down where he had his hand and removed it shaking. The paramedics reacted immediately and charged the pumps. They shocked her four times before her heart started back. They immediately put the machine at her feet and lifted the gurney again. The guys went to help the EMTs carry her through the trees and the girls followed.

After getting her to the ambulance, the EMT let Katherine ride with her because she lived in the same household and Caroline didn't have any family. Everyone else ran back to their cars and sped off behind the ambulance. Katherine was keeping everyone updated through text on the way. Caroline hadn't crashed again, but she hadn't woken back up either. She figured it was for the best at the moment. If she woke up, she would be in pain, and Katherine didn't want to see her in any more pain.


	5. Chapter 5

**The Hospital**

After being admitted into the hospital, Caroline was put in the ICU unit. Dr. Fell only allowed Katherine back there with her while waiting on her to wake up. Katherine repeated to the others that she probably wouldn't wake up for a while, and they decided to come back then. Nobody wanted to leave, but the doctor finally came out and told them to. Katherine promised she would let everyone know when she was awake before going back to room.

Throughout the morning and into the evening, the doctor and several nurses had come in and out of the room, as her vitals improved. They eventually moved her out of ICU and into another wing. Katherine informed everyone what was happening as it happened, but refused to take her eyes off of her friend. When Caroline started twitching or turning in her sleep, Katherine knew she would be waking up soon. She let everyone know it wouldn't be long so they could be getting ready.

When Caroline opened her eyes and noticed the hospital walls she sighed. She heard an intake of breath and looked over to see who it was. When she saw Katherine, she barely had any time to prepare for the hug her friend gave her.

_"Don't you ever scare me like that again. We thought we lost you. We did lose you for a minute there. You can't keep doing this. We're going to get you fixed up and then I'm cutting you off drinking. I know it wasn't the only reason for last night, but it sure as hell didn't help you." _Katherine said in a rush. Caroline only looked at her. She didn't feel like talking or moving yet. _"Talk to me. Please. I can't stand seeing you like this."_

_"It hurts." _Was all she could manage to whisper as she winced from the pain. Katherine called the nurse in the room, but she couldn't give her anything for the pain for another couple hours. Then, she texted everyone to let them know that Caroline had finally woke up. Everyone made their ways to the hospital and let Katherine know. The doctor would only allow two people in at a time, so Katherine told Caroline that she would get her some clothes and stuff before coming back. She also needed to get some coffee in her system so she could make it the rest of the day. Damon and Elena were the first ones to come into the room. Damon tried to be his normal teasing self, but Elena crying made his efforts useless. Bonnie and Jeremy were next to visit. They didn't stay long because they knew that Stefan would be tearing up the walls soon. After they left, she saw Stefan come in with the guy she had seen at the bar. She realized it was Rebekah's brother and automatically felt uneasy. She didn't want anything to do with their family. Stefan noticed her trying to turn away, but stopped her.

_"Don't worry; he's not going to bite. He's Rebekah's brother. She'll be here soon. She wants to apologize to you for her behavior and I want you to listen to her. I know she means it. She and Klaus were both there last night and they wanted to know how you were doing. So, how are you feeling?" _Stefan said.

_"I'll be fine. You can go home now." _She whispered.

_"Oh no you don't. I'm not leaving here until Katherine makes it back and I know what you're doing. You aren't going to push me away. Matter of fact, you're going to be seeing a lot more of all of us here soon. And no more drinking for you. Your heart is under enough strain as it is, so you are not going to make it worse."_

_"I didn't drink as much as I could have, Stefan. And I swear to the gods that if I hear one more person tell me they are going to fix me today then I will refuse to call anyone the next time this happens. And don't pretend that it won't because you know it will. I don't have to be drinking for this to happen." _She croaked. She had tried to keep her voice at a whisper but her patience was wearing thin and her anger rising.

_"I know okay? I don't think you need fixed, but I do think you need to accept our help. You're 25 years old Caroline. I know losing Tyler was painful, but it doesn't mean your life is over. One day you're going to meet your soul mate and have a family. You just got to open yourself back up."_

_"I don't want it!"_

_"Calm down Care, please!"_

_"I was making my own family. It wasn't meant to be, so I'm not even going to think about it again. I don't want to feel that pain again."_

_"Again? You make yourself feel it every day. You refuse to let it go. You aren't betraying him by letting him go and moving on with your life. Do you think he'd want to see you this way?"_

_"No, I know how he would want to see me. He'd want to see me with him and the children that we didn't get to have."_

_"Caroline, I know you were trying to have a child. You wanted to be a mom. Why would you give up that hope?"_

_"Because I didn't tell you everything about that night. I didn't just lose Tyler that night."_

_"What are you talking about Care?"_

_"You were pregnant weren't you?" _Klaus asked, as he finally joined the conversation. She just dropped her eyes down and turned her head away.

_"Oh my god Caroline, why didn't you say anything?"_

_"What difference would it make?"_

_"Why didn't I know about it before the wreck?"_

_"Because nobody but Tyler and I knew. I had just told him that night. That's why he was driving. I got sick at dinner and he decided to drive us back home instead of me. If I hadn't let him drive, he would be alive now."_

_"Caroline, it's not your fault."_

_"That isn't everything, but I can't tell you the rest right now. All I can say is that it wasn't a normal accident. There were things in the road and then something came at us. Tyler didn't see until it was too late. He swerved and that's when we left the road. I was awake the whole time, until I had an episode. I saw everything and I couldn't stop it. Don't tell anybody. It's bad enough for you two to hear it, and I don't even know him."_

_"That's alright love, you'll be getting to know me soon enough with Stefan and Rebekah around."_

_"He's right, and I know he won't say anything. He keeps his word."_

_"Thank you. You know Stefan… never mind. I'm not even going to bring that up. Is everything set up for Saturday?"_

_"I think Damon is taking care of that now, but you won't be on your feet by then. Missing one ritual is not going to affect you since you are having a bit of a health problem."_

_"I'm going and you'll not stop me. Don't forget what I can do Stefan."_

_"Now is definitely not the time to talk about that, so you just be good and listen to the doctor. She said for you to rest until Monday to be safe. You get to get out tomorrow so don't chew her head off."_

_"I'm not going to chew Meredith's head off, but I will yours if you try and stop me from going Saturday. We have other covens coming to coordinate for Yule. It's my responsibility to get this done and everybody taken care of."_

_"I know that, but I've already informed the other leaders of what happened and they are more than willing to lead in your absence."_

_"Oh come on Stefan, do you really think it's that easy? Do you know how much energy has to be channeled for a group that big? Too much for them to handle safely. Something could happen and I'm not going to stand by and let it. It's my responsibility to protect them, even if it's from themselves. It's too much for them right now. They need to finish their practices before even thinking about trying that."_

_"Okay fine, but you will use an anchor this time. It's too much energy for you right now. You're in the freaking hospital Caroline."_

_"And my vow was to protect them, even if it's fatal. I knew the risks when I took the spot."_

_"Caroline, let another priestess be your anchor at least. You need to find someone to train to be an apprentice or a stand in for you. You're future isn't looking too bright, so who are you going to give the task to if something happens to you?"_

_"What are you two talking about? I am completely lost here. Stefan, you guys sound crazy from where I'm sitting." _Klaus interrupted, looking a little confused. Stefan had forgotten about him there for a minute, so he realized that this would go one of two ways. Either they would have to make him forget the conversation or explain everything. He looked to Caroline, and she turned to Klaus. She turned her body around to let her legs hang off the bed. She motioned for him to come to her. She didn't see any darkness around him, as she read him. She could tell he wasn't a witch, but there was till something about him.

_"Hold up your hand. I'm going to show you something, so don't freak out. What I show you, you can't repeat to anyone. You would be jeopardizing a lot of lives if you did."_

_"Are you threatening me?" _Klaus asked as he fixed a small glare at her. He didn't like people trying to intimidate him, but he didn't think she could do anything to him, so he didn't have to use a full glare.

_"I'm not threatening you. I'm warning you about what could happen if the wrong people got a hold of this information. Your sister was part right when she said I was hiding something. It's just not what she thought it was. Now, hold out your hand." _She replied calmly. He nodded and stretched his hand out in front of her. She looked at Stefan before placing her hands at the sides of his hand slightly above his. She closed her eyes and pictured a small fireball. She didn't want him to panic, but she wanted something she felt the closest to. With fire being her birth element, it was the easiest for her to call upon. When she felt the heat between her hands, she opened her eyes and looked at the fireball. Klaus was freaking out on the inside, but he managed to keep most of it contained. If he didn't know better, he would have thought it was an illusion or trick, but he felt the heat from the fire. He looked up at her, but she kept her eyes focused on the flames. He noticed her eyes had changed from their blue to purple as she made the little fireball. He gave a little chuckle, but it was enough for her to break the connection and let the flames disappear. She blinked and her eyes went back to blue.

_"What was that?"_

_"Magic. I called upon fire to give you a demonstration. Sorry it wasn't anything big, but I don't exactly feel like using magic right now."_

_"Nothing big? I've never seen anything like that. What are you?"_

_"I'm a witch. I was born one, just like Stefan and Damon. However, I'm stronger than them, and that little display was nothing."_

_"Bragging love?"_

_"I don't brag. I'm stating a fact. Now, can you give me your word that you won't say anything, or do I have to remove that little memory from your head? I don't like doing that, and I can tell if you lie to me. Which is it?"_

_"I won't say anything, but I think I need to have a little chat with Stefan. Stefan mate, how on earth are you going to explain this to my sister? Furthermore, how are you going to keep her quiet about it?"_

_"Well, I was planning on showing her during Yule. As for how I plan on keeping her quiet about it, I will simply explain that she could get someone killed by talking about it. Every witch is a marked target. Most of us have already been attacked and we've lost many loved ones over time." _Stefan explained as he took a quick glance at Caroline. She had dropped her eyes back down and was fighting tears. He didn't want to have to bring this up in front of her, but he needed some back up talking to Klaus.

_"And how can you guarantee Rebekah's safety if she's with you?"_

_"Because I'm his high priestess. We're part of a group that has many powers. One of Stefan's best abilities is protection wards, much like my mother was. That's why she was sheriff, and as another person who knows about protection wards, I can help him get even better."_

_"I'm not too comforted about that sweetheart. Your own husband is dead and you couldn't protect him."_

_"Klaus, don't get her angry. You shouldn't have said that to her."_

_"You're right. I couldn't protect him. But, it wasn't because I didn't have the power; it was because I didn't know how to use it. I tried to stay away from this world, but it wouldn't let me go. I didn't practice; I didn't even want to be this, so I didn't do anything to anything to make my powers grow. It's my fault he died because I pushed my abilities away when it could have saved his life."_

_"So why are you giving in now?"_

_"Because I still have people to protect and because I'm not just a witch. I'm a little different, but that's not important right now. What's important is that Stefan will protect Rebekah, and I will help him."_

_"My sister wasn't very nice to you, but yet you still want to help her. I don't entirely believe you."_

_"She's innocent, so she falls under my protection. I'm bound by my faith and my vows to do so. Stefan is my brother and he is in love with your sister. Not only am I bound to protect him as well, but I'm bound to help him reach his full potential. It's very complicated and I doubt that you would understand. You seem pretty dead set against it. So, do we have a deal or not?"_

_"Can I think about it?"_

_"You can think in here. I've spelled the door so no one can leave until I get your answer. I also slowed time down in this room. What we perceive as minutes in here is only seconds outside. You can check the clock on the wall if you don't believe me. You can also look out the window and see everyone walking in slow motion." _She said as he went to the window. Sure enough, everything was passing by so slow that everything appeared to be frozen in place. He turned to look at her and resumed questioning.

_"What about the rest of my family? I don't like this. How do I know that you guys will keep your word? How do I know you don't use your powers against other people?"_

_"Give me hand again and I'll show you. We're not allowed to harm an innocent. The only things we fight are darkness and evil. We find the root of a problem and eliminate it."_

_"What are you going to show me?"_

_"Things that have already passed. I can transfer memories from Stefan to you too if you'd like?"_

_"Both. I want to know what the bloody heel my family is getting into with you people."_

_"Not your whole family. You were curious, so I am answering your questions. Rebekah will be finding out because she has to make an informed decision in marrying Stefan. She can't join him if he holds this back from her."_

_"Fine, just begin already love. I really don't have all day."_

_"Close your eyes and focus on receiving what I'm going to show you." _She instructed and she closed her eyes to focus on a few of the times she had expelled dark entities from people and houses. Then she focused on some of the ritual work she had done. She showed him some of the times that Stefan and Damon had helped her. She left out a lot of things, but she didn't think he needed to see everything they had done. She didn't want him knowing anything personal about her or regarding what her destiny was. While giving him snapshots, she also read things about him. She found out several important details that she would have to keep to herself; especially if they had to remove his knowledge of them. Her magic would only do so much to him. He was immune to her. She broke the connection to him. She didn't want him to know where her mind was going. "Oh goddess you must be kidding me. Him?" she thought. She refused to give away her thoughts. No one could know what she figured out. _"Well? Have you made a decision?"_

_"I won't say anything, but I don't want my family apart of this."_

_"Rebekah still has to know if she and Stefan are to be married. Just like Elena will have to know if Damon wants to marry her. One of my gifts is being able to read people, and I can tell if they are supposed to be together. They are, so the girls will have to know when it's the proper time, but it will be before they are married."_

_"I'm going to interrupt you two now. Klaus you're my friend and Rebekah's closest brother. I wanted you to know about me, but that means you also had to know about Damon and Caroline. You see Damon and I all the time, but I doubt you'll see much of Caroline. Think about it… you heard us all planning to find her last night. We couldn't find her until she let us know where she was. Chances are the only things you'll ever have to see us do would be a full moon ritual or something easy like that. Neither you nor Rebekah will likely see anything dangerous. If you do, we will be there to protect you from it. Besides, Caroline usually handles the major things by herself. She doesn't even like to involve anybody because she doesn't like distractions; even if we're trained for it."_

_"Okay I get what you're saying mate, but I don't know how Rebekah is going to take all of this."_

_"I was going to bring her to the Yule celebration and let her see for herself. You're welcome to join us, but both of you will have to be inside the circle. You don't have to do anything, but you do have to be inside for protection. Nothing can happen to either of you inside the circle. Don't let anyone else know about it or come with you though."_

_"Alright, we'll see how everything goes. This is a lot to take in though."_

_"We understand that. This started early for me. I thought I was going crazy until I researched my family line. I got this from my mother's side, but she wasn't alive anymore to explain it to me. I found some things out from her brother before he died, but the rest I had to figure out on my own. It was actually funny seeing Damon and Stefan's faces when I confronted them about their family line. They thought they were the only witches in town. Damon got excited, but Stefan fainted. But, of course, I wasn't living here anymore, so they helped me find more information before I left again. See, they got their gifts from their mother, who died when they were little too, but their father knew about it all and helped them before he died too."_

_"I notice a lot of people die around you guys. I don't want my sister dying early in life because of who she's with."_

_"Our parents were killed because they were the ones to give birth to our generation. Their deaths were planned to make it harder for us to be ready for what is to come. It's our generation that will stop it. If we fail, the cycle will repeat itself the next time we live. Our powers were awakened early to give us the time we needed."_

_"What are you talking about now?"_

_"It's too dangerous for you to know about it. You don't know how open your mind is to other influences. We can shield ourselves and the knowledge of us in a few people, but knowledge of what's going on can't be shielded, so we really can't explain it to you. We will keep you out of it as best as we can though. I've been given glimpses, so I know Stefan and Damon will survive, and since they still had their link glowing, so will their mates. That's all I can tell you."_

_"Caroline, we still have to worry about you. From everything we've researched and everything you've seen, we still don't know what happens to you. Are you breaking the cycle in this life?"_

_"I don't know Stefan; I'm given multiple endings for me. It's not set in stone, and you know I'm not allowed to know everything."_

_"You know the only way to survive this is to be bound."_

_"I know, but that's not going to happen. I will hold out as long as I can, but I won't do that. I'm changing things already to make it different next time."_

_"There wouldn't have to be a next time if you would just do what you're supposed to do. You need to search for him. Think of the peaceful life you could have next time. No more fighting, no more pain, just living life. If you die before this is done, or you fail during, this cycle is all for nothing."_

_"You think I haven't thought about that? I know how I've lived and died every time. I've changed things in this life. I will break this cycle, but not like you want me to."_

_"You're going to make it so you don't come back aren't you? Do you know what will happen if you do that? You can't do that."_

_"If I don't bind with him in this life, then this can't happen again. There will still be witches to guard everyone, but I won't be back. I'll have found my own peace. Do you know what it's like to see how you've died in every life? My mate has killed me in every life. Sure, it is always an accident, but it's still painful. And you know that he is the only one that can kill me unless I do it myself."_

_"You flatlined last night. When you jerked your arm, I had to hold it down so you wouldn't rip your IV out. Are you saying you were trying to kill yourself last night?" _Klaus interrupted.

_"No, I wasn't, but some of my actions could have caused that. I was drinking on top of stress and a health problem. I can accidently kill myself if I'm not careful, but these episodes won't kill me by themselves. I use a lot of energy with my magic, so the price is the pain I feel every time I use it."_

_"There's another thing Caroline. Right before you flatlined, the wind picked up enough to bend the trees and you made a partly cloudy night turn into a complete overcast in less than 30 seconds. Something happened to you last night, and I don't know what it was." _Stefan informed.

_"Stefan, I will figure it out. You know I'm not at full potential yet, but I can be driven to those lengths under duress."_

_"Wait a minute… that was you?" _Klaus asked.

_"I guess it was. Although I was kind of focusing on the pain I was feeling instead of the weather."_

_"Caroline can control elements. She is literally the strongest witch on the planet and she's not a full blood. She's was born a half-blood to keep her hidden. We were literally brother and sister in a past life, and that's another reason I call her my sister. Damon calls her a sister because he was a friend to her in a past life and he was supposed to help her then. Every time she has died since being around us, we have been reborn close to her. It's the reason we were born half-witches too; so we could be hidden until the time came to help her. You can meet other half-witches and they don't have very much power at all, but Damon and I are as strong as full witches. When we said she was our high priestess, we didn't just mean our coven. There are other high priestesses, but she's the top one. I have some control over water, which is good because it frustrates her to no end since she was born under a fire sign. Damon is strictly healing and anchoring, even if he sometimes loses focus. We're all at our peaks until we are bound to our mates. But since Caroline wants to be stubborn, it seems she's not going to reach full potential."_

_"Damn right I'm not. That's too much power in a mortal body. You know the risks with that. Since I'm not a deity, but have the potential to reach that power and be mortal, I have free will. If I ever lost my way and went to the dark side, I could literally end the world as we know it. That's why I don't want bound to my mate. I could already do terrible things as it is, I don't want more power."_

_"You're afraid aren't you? That's why you came back here. You needed a reason to keep yourself from going down that path. So, you came back here to cling to the only people that are left in your life. You were tempted to switch sides weren't you?"_

_"As long as there are people that I care about to protect, I will NOT go dark. But, you're half right. I was going to use my power to end my life, but it could have hurt someone. If I had hurt someone by trying to take my life, I wouldn't have died. I would have waked up completely dark and sought out my mate to bind with him and then kill him. Then, I would have gone after every witch I knew and who they knew until I killed every light witch. That is what could have happened. I wouldn't have been able to control it. What's the term? Oh yes… complete hell on earth."_

_"Well let's not piss you off. You may snap and that happen anyway."_

_"That's why Stefan mediates a lot. I can be temperamental, but I've always held back."_

_"What will me and Rebekah see on Yule?"_

_"A lot, but not everything. I won't show you how much I can do because it could be dangerous. Damon and Stefan still haven't seen everything."_

_"We'll be there, but I'm going to be watching you. I don't like the idea of a loose cannon ready to explode so close to my family."_

_"I said we would protect you guys. Everyone thinks I've lost all hope in my life and I'm going to switch sides at any minute, but I'm not. I don't associate with many people because I can't protect everyone with how I am now, and adding more power has its own dangers. Besides, you can't keep an eye on me all of the time. I do know how to cloak myself so no one can see me, and if you try to follow me you could put someone else at risk. I disappear for a reason. If I have to fight something strong, I can't be distracted with having to protect someone. You could get yourself killed, so don't do anything stupid. I get that you don't trust me, and that's fine, because I don't necessarily trust you either. So just ignore me the best you can and act like I don't even exist. It's the safest option you have. And I also don't want to have to deal with another girlfriend who gets jealous and thinks I'm chasing after her guy if she sees you following me around."_

_"Fine, you want to be invisible, consider yourself invisible." _He said as he went to stand by the door and wait for her to lift the spells. Stefan came to stand by her. When he went to pat her shoulder, she retracted from his reach. She closed her eyes and lifted the spells. Stefan informed Klaus that he could leave, but asked him to send Rebekah in. Klaus nodded and stole another glance towards Caroline. Since the spells were lifted, the machines were working again and they could hear her heart skipping lightly. She had her eyes closed and her fist clenched. She looked like she was started to have more pain, but she didn't make a sound except for extra breathing. _"If you're worried about Rebekah, don't be. She felt really bad about last night." _He quickly spoke up, thinking she was stressing over his sister about to be around her again, but she didn't give any indication that she had heard him.

_"Klaus come back in the room and shut the door. She's seeing something. Normally she just sees stuff when she's dreaming, but sometimes it happens when she's awake. I'll bind the door again so we aren't interrupted."_

_"Do I even want to know?"_

_"Probably not, but she'll let me know if you should be here or not when she comes out of it." _He said before the monitor started going crazy and her breathing became erratic. _"Shit! Caroline, come out of it. The nurses will come in here if you don't get everything under control. Just come out of it. You'll see the rest later. Caroline, listen to me, come out of it. Don't make me shake you out of it." _He continued while grasping her shoulders. She didn't show any signs of coming out of it, so he shook her. She didn't come out of it until he tapped her face. _"What did you see?"_

_"The next move is tonight. It's outside the club we were at last night. Stefan, I have to get out of here. I have to stop it."_

_"Wait a minute. You mean my club?"_

_"That was your club?"_

_"Well mine and my family's club. What's going to happen?"_

_"Don't worry about it. Just keep everyone inside tonight at 10:43. Stefan, I'll need you and Damon there to block any distractions from happening, but make a circle and stay in it unless someone comes outside. I have to be inside until I see who the entity has a hold on. I'll lure him outside and expel the entity. You grab the guy and pull him into the circle and start erasing the damage that's been done to him. I'll deal with the entity."_

_"Okay Caroline, I'll call Damon now before Rebekah comes in here. Then I'm going to go play a little persuasive act to get you out of here quicker."_

_"So you're not even out of the hospital yet, but you have to go fight something? And that something is going to be in my club tonight? What the bloody hell did you bring here?"_

_"I didn't bring anything here. I can't help it that you're completely mortal and can't tell when someone is possessed or something is appearing as a person. But just so you know, clubs lure these things in because it creates a way to lure people to them. Your club had at least 6 of these things in it last night. I couldn't make a move, but I know they were just scoping then. They didn't attack, so I held back. Tonight, one of them is going to make a move and I will not stand by and let that happen. Just keep everyone inside. Please. That's all I need from you, other than keeping quiet."_

_"Why can't I see it?"_

_"Because you're a normal human being. Trust me when I tell you that you don't want to see them. Once you do, it never stops. You'd always be able to see them. I can't make that go away. Like when you come to Yule; once you see how we use our power, you'll always be able to tell a light witch from someone like you. It comes in handy if you're ever in danger because you could ask for their help. But, I don't have time to explain everything to you right now. We'll explain everything in due time, but I got to get out of here and prepare for tonight. I have to double up my medication and have the kit ready in case I repeat last night; which is a likely possibility. So, do me a favor, and start ignoring me now and go."_

_"Hey Caroline, Rebekah is outside. Klaus, you need to go and do what she says. She's protecting you and Bekah by keeping you out of it until we can explain everything. Just listen to her."_

_"Fine, but this discussion is far from over."_

_"We know, now go so Bekah can come in." _Stefan pleaded as Klaus stared at Caroline. Everything seemed so crazy to him, but what could he do? She didn't back down from the stare like everyone else did. There was something about her that he couldn't figure out. She seemed completely calm during the stare off, and that made him turn to leave. It unnerved him that he had never been the first one to break a stare until then. He looked at Stefan and Stefan seemed a little confused by the action, but he broke the gaze. When he turned to shut the door, he glanced back but she was already staring out the window with the same look on her face, so he left. He saw his sister in the hallway but didn't say anything. He was making his way out the door when he saw Katherine.

_"Hey is everyone done visiting her?"_

_"Um no, Rebekah and Stefan are with her now."_

_"Why is your sister in there?"_

_"She wanted to apologize to her."_

_"Okay, so why were you in there?"_

_"Stefan asked me to go since I helped out last night. I was curious as to how she was doing. I've never seen something like that."_

_"Well, Elijah is looking for you, so maybe you should go find him."_

_"How do you know that?"_

_"He was just at the bookstore. I had to stop by there to post a note that we were closed today. He saw me and asked if I had seen you. I told him that my friend was in the hospital and that maybe you had went with Stefan there, so you might want to call him. I don't think he wants to talk to you here."_

_"What do you know that I don't?"_

_"Oh I know lots of things, but nothing I know is for me to say, so go call your brother."_

_"Why is everyone bossing me around today?"_

_"I'm guessing Caroline kicked you out of her room?"_

_"She and Stefan both did."_

_"That's Caroline. She doesn't let other people tell her what to do and she doesn't care to speak her mind. She doesn't know you, so she probably didn't want you knowing little details about her life that you found out. However, you're Stefan's friend like she is, so the chances of you knowing stuff eventually about her were pretty high. I actually think you two could be good friends if you were around her more."_

_"Why do you say that?"_

_"You're both a lot alike, but at the same time you have your differences. The biggest things are your loyalties to the people you care about and how you both try to protect and help others. But, you'll probably figure that out later. Now, go find your brother."_

_"Fine. Have Rebekah call me if she needs a ride."_

_"Fine, but if she goes after Caroline again, I will go after her. I won't stand by and see that again."_

_"She won't. She's in there making amends right now."_

_"Caroline will forgive her, but she won't want to hang around her much. Since Stefan and Damon are occupied so much with Rebekah and Elena, she's going to be alone more, so I'm going to try and keep up with her. She never sits still for long, so I'm going to have to get in shape."_

_"Huh?"_

_"Don't worry about it. You'll see eventually. Just go talk to your brother."_

_"Bye Katherine."_

_"Bye Klaus."_


	6. Chapter 6

**Caroline's Room**

Rebekah walked in to see Caroline standing by the window staring out at the scenery and Stefan sitting in one of the chairs. When he saw her, he looked up and told her he was going to talk to the doctor and that he'd be back soon. Rebekah made her way over to the chair he had been sitting in while trying to figure out how to break the nervousness she felt.

_"You don't have to be nervous; I'm not mad at you, nor will I do anything to you. You don't have to say anything."_

_"I want to say something though. I didn't know what had happened to you until last night, and it shouldn't have taken me finding out everything to be nice to you. I was scared that you would take Stefan away from me, so I tried to drive you away."_

_"Like I said last night Rebekah, he's a brother to me. I have no interest in romantic relationships. Period. So, don't worry about me. Now, I'm going to give you some advice. Just ignore me like you would any stranger. Knowing my past doesn't make us friends. You being with Stefan is only going to make us acquaintances that have to be around each other for his sake. I'm not in your way and I won't be in your way."_

_"Can we try to be friends? I would like to make up my behavior to you."_

_"I don't want to be friends with you because you feel guilty. I accept your apology and I forgive you, but I don't want any more interactions in my life than what I already have."_

_"Why not?"_

_"Because the more people you know in life, the more pain you feel when each of them leave your life. I have only a handful of people that I care about left. I'll be completely alone soon enough and I'm fine with that. If I start making new friends, I won't get the peace I'm looking for because I'll have too many people around me. Just be good to Stefan and watch out for him. That's all I want from you."_

_"Bloody hell Caroline; you can't isolate yourself off from everyone. Don't you ever get lonely?"_

_"No I don't get lonely. When I'm by myself I remember all of the times I shared with my husband and my family. It takes it away. Not to mention I have plenty of distractions I do that I don't have to have other people around me for."_

_"Like hobbies?"_

_"That and more, but I don't feel like talking any more. Can you see if Stefan is having any luck getting me out of here? And if Katherine is back, have her come in here."_

_"Okay, but I'm not done talking to you about all of this. I know you don't feel well, but you'll get better."_

_"I've been dealing with this for over half my life. I'm used to it. Besides I'll probably see you later tonight, but I'll be busy so I'll talk to you when you come to the Yule celebration. Stefan was going to bring you and your brother so you guys know what our lives are like before you give him an answer. Katherine told me he gave you the ring last night after I left before you ask me how I knew."_

_"I figured someone did. I'll go now, but you probably shouldn't be drinking tonight."_

_"I won't be drinking. I'm going there with Katherine, but I'm going to sit there and read while she mingles."_

_"Well at least you won't be drinking and you'll be resting. And you won't be alone. I can come sit with you if you want me to."_

_"I'm good Rebekah. I don't need company. I have a lot of things I have to do and reading will give me time to organize everything in my head."_

_"Alright. Well, I will see you later then. And, I really am sorry for how I treated you last night."_

_"Goodbye Rebekah." _ Caroline replied as she kept gazing out the window. Katherine came in shortly after to let her know that Stefan and Rebekah were leaving because the doctor was discharging her. She retrieved her clothes from Katherine and went into the bathroom to change. The only thing left to wait on was for them to give her the discharge papers, so she sat back down. Katherine saw how quiet she was being, and figured she didn't feel like talking so they sat in a comfortable silence until she could leave.

When they got home, they went to their separate rooms to change and rest for a while. Caroline knew the night would take a lot of energy out of her, so she needed to rest before she ate. Katherine wasn't thrilled with the idea of Caroline going back to the club, but she had promised not to drink so she didn't refuse. Katherine also knew that Elijah would be there that night, so she wanted to put extra effort into how she looked. She knew Elijah was going to tell his brother about the affair with his girlfriend and would need a friend. Both of them were going to be upset, and she didn't want him to face that alone. She didn't know what Klaus's girlfriend, Tatia, was going to do about being found out about. But, she also knew that there was more to the story. She knew Tatia had been pregnant by one of them and had gone and had an abortion done, but she didn't know for sure who the father had been. Neither Klaus nor Elijah knew about that, but she had been at the OBGYN for a check-up and heard Tatia and the doctor talking about the procedure. It was a big mess, and now on top of that, she was worried about Caroline. She knew Caroline had written up that Katherine, Stefan, and Damon were who were going to have control of her assets if anything happened to her, but she didn't want to think that her friend's health was getting that bad. Caroline was sleeping when Katherine made her way to the door to get the pizza she had ordered. It wasn't the healthiest option for her friend, but they were both tired, so it would have to do. Katherine woke her up to eat before they had to get ready. Caroline got her med kit ready and put it in her purse before taking double her medications. Then she grabbed a psychology book and one of her favorite fiction novels. When they ready, they both headed to Katherine's car, since they wouldn't need a cab that night.


	7. Chapter 7

**At The Originals**

Caroline was hoping it wouldn't take too long to finish her task that night. I t was a full moon and she still had to make it to the clearing for the full moon ritual with Stefan and Damon. She figured she wouldn't make it home until almost dawn, but hoped otherwise. She and Katherine found a two-seat table near the side exit that Caroline refused to walk away from, so they sat there. The music that night was a mixture of genres, so it wasn't too much on Caroline's nerves as she pulled her books out and started reading. Katherine saw what she was doing and told her she had to go talk to someone and that it might be a while before she made her way back. Caroline nodded and Katherine went to find Elijah. Matt stopped by Caroline's table to see how she was doing since he heard about what had happened. He threatened to never serve her again, but she just rolled her eyes. Seeing only minimal reactions to him, he told her goodnight and went back to the bar. Rebekah did as she said she would and went to say hi to Caroline, but she didn't get much of a response, so Rebekah left to find her brother.

_"Nik, I need your help."_

_"Not now sister, I'm not in the mood for any more problems tonight."_

_"It's not a problem. Caroline won't talk to me. I keep asking her questions but she doesn't give me a vocal answer. She just moves her head and won't look up from her book. I'm trying to get to know her, but she told me earlier to just ignore her."_

_"Well do as the bloody girl says and ignore her then Rebekah. I'm not in the mood tonight for friendly conversations either, so I don't see why you have to be pushy. Give her time to know you. You can't just become friends with someone overnight."_

_"She doesn't want to be friends. She wants to be alone. I don't think she should be."_

_"Leave her be Rebekah. The world doesn't revolve around what you want when you want it."_

_"I know that Nik, but she looked tense; like she was waiting for something. She kept glancing at her watch."_

_"Maybe she is just waiting on Katherine to be done here so she can go home. If she wants to be alone, it's a little difficult when she's in a club that's filled with people."_

_"Where did she go?"_

_"What?"_

_"She was right there." _Rebekah replied as she pointed to the table where all of Caroline's stuff was still at, but Caroline couldn't be seen. Klaus glanced at his phone to check the time as he saw the side door closing. It was almost the time that Caroline had told him to keep everyone inside. He couldn't see Stefan or Damon anywhere, so he knew what was getting ready to happen. "Why would she leave her stuff inside if she needed it?" he thought, but didn't say anything. They made their way over to the table and looked around.

_"Bekah, stay inside and don't let anybody leave. I'm going to take her bag outside with me and have a look around for her. She may have had a problem and took it outside."_

_"But she hasn't drunk anything except water and nobody has started anything with her. I've watched her almost the entire time she's been here; until I came to find you."_

_"It could have been something else then. Either way, stay inside and I'll find her."_

_"What about Tatia? What if she asks me where you are?"_

_"She better stay far away from me. If you want to know why that is, go ask Elijah."_

_"Nik, what happened?"_

_"Go ask Elijah."_

_"Fine." _She replied as she walked off looking for her other brother. Klaus picked up Caroline's bag and exited the side door. Tatia saw him exit with a woman's purse and decided to follow him. When Klaus made it outside, he stood still to listen for any sounds of fighting, before he was rammed into by Tatia.

_"What the bloody hell are you doing following me?"_

_"Where are you going, and why do you have a woman's purse?"_

_"Stefan's friend came outside and left her stuff. I was trying to find them."_

_"Why do you care?"_

_"Why are you following me? We're over Tatia. You slept with my brother behind my back for months. Just leave me alone."_

_"I love you and I'm not giving up until you take me back. It's only a matter of time until you do anyway."_

_"No way in hell. Just leave me alone, or better yet go chase down Elijah."_

_"Elijah didn't even want me to begin with. He isn't going to talk to me now. He's got Katherine hanging all over him now. She disgusts me. I chose you. I want you. Come on, you know you want me back."_

_"I said no." _He replied with gritted teeth as he pushed her off of him. He turned to go towards the back alley. If he was in a fight and didn't want seen, he knew he would have went that way. Tatia kept following him. Oh well, if she saw something, at least he knew that her memory could be erased. Maybe they could even get her to leave him alone. All of a sudden, he heard the noise and saw Stefan's eyes land on him. He motioned for him to join them so he ran. Stefan grabbed him and pulled him into the circle. Tatia came up on the circle, but couldn't enter it. Stefan jumped out long enough to put a barrier around her so she couldn't leave and nothing could get to her before he jumped back in the circle. Then they were all watching Caroline.

They could see her fighting with her physical strength to get the guy where she wanted him. With one final push, she managed to get him inside a barrier of her own. Klaus watched every move she made. She was stretching one hand out in front of her, with her eyes focused on the guy. The other hand, she did a circular motion and let her other hand drop. The guy stood and tried to beat down the barrier, but he couldn't get out. She held both of her hands out in front of her and filled the barrier full of light. She saw the guy drop with the shadow figure looming over him. She pulled the guy out and Stefan came to get him while she focused on the figure. She started speaking a language that Klaus didn't recognize when the figure started screeching. Everyone had to cover their ears, but Caroline. She kept making the light brighter before the figure burst into ashes that fell to the ground. She dropped to her knees and removed the barrier before stretching her hand out and motioning the ashes up towards the sky. She leaned back and focused on sending them upwards beyond sight. She leaned forward to rest her hands on the ground in front of her and sent a silent thank you to the gods before trying to stand up. She managed to stand before she fell again. Klaus could see that her nose was bleeding and her eyes couldn't focus in on anything, but he couldn't find his voice until he heard her muffled scream.

_"It's starting again, isn't it?" _Klaus asked Stefan.

_"Yes, but she'll be okay. This is her normal episodes. Why didn't you listen to us? Why did you come outside?" _Stefan replied as Damon went to help Caroline, while Klaus and Stefan hung back.

_"I saw that she left her purse and I figured she would need her med kit. I guess I was right." _Klaus replied and glanced Caroline's way.

_"We had the spare. Do you have any idea what you've just done to yourself?" _Stefan asked in a serious tone. Klaus knew he wasn't going to hear the end of it this time.

_"You can tell me later. We have another problem. Tatia followed me out here. I need you all to erase this memory from her and maybe get her to leave me alone."_

_"Why would you want her to leave you alone?"_

_"Because we broke up. She slept with Elijah and now she won't leave either of us alone. With everything going on, please do this to make it a little easier."_

_"You'll have to wait until Caroline can do it. I can take the incident away, but I can't influence her that well. I was barely able to get the doctor to let Caroline leave the hospital today. I won't be able to get her to leave BOTH you and Elijah alone. She'll have to do that."_

_"Go ahead and erase this incident then. When will she be able to do the rest?"_

_"Give her a few minutes. It's cake for her, so let her rest a minute. Looks like her pain is subsiding if you want to go tell her. She's going to be a little pissed that you didn't listen, so don't make it worse."_

_"Wouldn't dream of it mate. I saw what she did to that thing. I'm not an idiot."_

_"Go. I'll deal with the first part." _Stefan instructed looking tired. Klaus gave him a nod before heading over to Caroline and Damon. Damon had propped her up against the wall and was sitting next to her. She had her head leaned back with a tissue under her nose. Klaus couldn't help but feel bad for having to disturb her. She looked absolutely drained.

_"Why didn't you listen to me?" _Caroline asked as she opened her eyes and looked at him. Damon could tell this was going to be a long talk, so he got up to join his brother.

_"Well love, I saw your bag and though you might need your kit. I didn't know they carried your spare with them. Are you alright?"_

_"I'm fine. What are you still doing out here?"_

_"Well I hate to ask, but I need a favor. Tatia followed me out here. Stefan is erasing her memory of this, but I need you to get her to leave me and Elijah alone. Neither of us want anything to do with her anymore, so will you do it?"_

_"If I do that, I'll have to rework parts of her thinking scope. I'll see her memories, or at least parts of them. Do you really want me to do that?"_

_"What types of memories?"_

_"Nothing too graphic. I just have to make her think that she doesn't want to be around you guys. But, I may get information that only she knows. Anything specific you want to know while I'm in there?"_

_"Not particularly. Just get her to leave my family and I alone."_

_"Fine. Go on over there and I'll be there when I can get up."_

_"Let me help you."_

_"No, I'm fine. Just go and I'll be right behind you." _She replied quickly before he could reach her. He looked like he wasn't going to listen, but she moved to the side and her eyes started shifting colors. He nodded and moved away from her. Her eyes shifted back to blue and he left her there. Caroline made sure her nose had stopped bleeding before pushing herself off the ground and making her way towards the others. When she was standing in front of the woman, she noticed that she had her own barrier. _"Stefan, do you mind telling me why she's in a barrier and was not put in the circle?"_

_"She couldn't step in."_

_"That means she is responsible for the loss of a life and she feels no remorse for it. Anything else she has done in this life would have let her pass through it. Tatia, who's life did you take?"_

_"I didn't kill anybody. Why would I?"_

_"I don't know why you would, but I will find out."_

_"Caroline, I couldn't remove the memory of tonight. You'll have to do that too."_

_"Fine. Damon, anchor me." _Caroline instructed as her eyes changed colors to purple. Klaus kept his eyes on her and Stefan was watching Klaus' reactions. Caroline closed her eyes and started searching through the woman's memories. After she got her answer, she opened her eyes back up. _"You had an abortion."_

_"How did you know that? Have you been spying on me?"_

_"I don't have to spy on anyone. Who was the father?"_

_"That's none of your business."_

_"You don't have to answer me; I can find it out myself." _Caroline replied as she closed her eyes and searched for the correct memory. When she found it, she opened her eyes again. _"I'm going to erase your memory of what you saw out here tonight and then I'm going to make sure you leave that family alone. You've done enough damage and any further involvement will only hurt them more." _She said as she closed her eyes again and removed the memory of what occurred outside and implanted another. Then she proceeded to change how she viewed Klaus and his family. She implanted the thought of moving away really soon to get her gone. She knew that if Tatia stayed, things could go bad quickly. When she opened her eyes, she removed the barrier and Tatia moved robotically towards the parking lot.

_"What did you do? And did you find the answer?" _Klaus asked.

_"I did find the answer, but it won't help anyone now. I implanted the thoughts of leaving you and your family alone and moving away. She won't stay in town long and she won't bother you again." _She replied as she made a move to leave. Klaus reached out and grabbed her arm, but fell on his knees with images going through his head. She shut her mind off and removed his hand from her arm.

_"What the bloody hell was that?"_

_"I had a lot going through my head and skin contact when I'm like that can transfer to another person. I wouldn't suggest doing that again."_

_"Tell me who it was!"_

_"Elijah. She conceived when you were gone for 3 weeks on a trip. When she figured it out and found her conception date, she knew it wasn't yours and didn't want to be caught. The rest she did right under your nose. I'm sorry, but with all of the damage she has done, it's best to let it go and move on."_

_"Thank you for your help. I won't mention anything to Elijah. You look like you're about to pass out. Maybe you should go home."_

_"I just have to grab Kat. We brought her car."_

_"She's been with Elijah all night. Maybe Stefan or Damon? They look like they're almost done clearing everything"_

_"I have to let them know that tonight is postponed until tomorrow. I'm too tired to do the ritual tonight. I just want to go home. I'm going to grab a cab. I'll see you around."_

_"See you around love." _He replied as he walked back towards the door. Caroline went and informed the guys about the ritual and went to grab a cab as Damon went to grab the rest of her stuff from inside for her. Stefan stayed with her until the cab and his brother came.

_"Caroline is there something you want to tell me?"_

_"Like what? I tell you everything."_

_"What did Klaus see when he grabbed your arm?"_

_"I don't know Stefan; ask him."_

_"I just think it's a little weird that every time he touches you, something happens to one of you."_

_"He's new around me Stefan. You know that happens sometimes."_

_"Yes, but not like that. There's something else going on."_

_"Stefan it's nothing. I think it's because of what he saw tonight and us revealing ourselves. It opened up what he could see."_

_"Yes, I know that, but there's something else isn't there?"_

_"Nope, now can we stop arguing? My head feels like someone hit me with a hammer and my chest is still hurting."_

_"We didn't have to give you a shot tonight. That's good news."_

_"Damon had it ready, but I doubled up my meds before I left the house. It's nothing big."_

_"Caroline… is Klaus…"_

_"Stefan don't even ask me that." _She replied with a glare. He knew to shut up, but his gut was telling him something was up between the two. Caroline was hoping he would drop it. She had already figured out what the link was. She made it a priority to avoid Klaus at all costs. It would be difficult with all of their connections, but not impossible. She would just have to disappear more frequently.

_"Damon's coming. I'll see you tomorrow."_

_"Bye Stefan."_

_"Here ya go Blondie. See you tomorrow?"_

_"Yea, see you tomorrow Damon." _She replied as she sat into the cab. Stefan went inside to tell Katherine that Caroline went home, but found Klaus talking to her and Elijah. He walked on over to them.

_"Hey Katherine; Caroline wasn't feeling good so she went home. She said you had the keys. Do you need a ride or are you okay to drive?" S_tefan asked.

_"I haven't drunk anything, so I can drive. Thank you Stefan."_

_"No problem. Klaus, have you seen Rebekah?"_

_"Yes, she's upstairs in the office. Did Caroline make it to her cab okay?"_

_"Yes, she did, but I wouldn't worry about her if I were you. She doesn't like socializing, or dating, so she should be off your radar."_

_"Come on mate; things just ended with Tatia. I'm not really looking anyway. I was just being your friend by asking about your other friend."_

_"Sure you were. You know what's she's been through, and she's not too happy with strangers knowing her business, so just leave her alone."_

_"Now who's being the protective older brother?"_

_"I'm serious Klaus. Leave her alone."_

_"He's right; leave her alone." _Katherine chimed in.

_"I'm not doing anything to her."_

_"Niklaus, I know you wish to not speak with me, but let me request that you abide their wishes for this girl. Katherine has told me some pieces of this girl's life and I don't think it is wise to add any stress to her life."_

_"Elijah, I said I wasn't doing or planning anything. And you're right; I do not wish to speak to you right now except to tell you that Tatia will no longer be a problem in our lives. It seems she'll be moving soon, so let's just let the dust settle in her wake."_

_"As you wish brother. I hope to redeem myself in your eyes one day, but until then I will stay out of your way."_

_"Elijah, you are my brother. Give me a week or two and I may feel like talking to you again. Until then, just stop telling me what to do."_

_"Alright guys, let's not start a fight. Katherine, let me or Damon know when you get home and check on Caroline. I'm going to talk to Rebekah. Elijah, Klaus, I wish you both a good night." _Stefan interrupted and took his leave.

_"I should probably go home and check on Caroline. How did she look when she left?"_

_"Like she was going to hit the ground any minute. She'll probably be asleep as soon as she hits the bed."_

_"I doubt it. I told you she hardly sits still. She's probably sleeping in the cab, but when she gets home, she'll be cleaning or something. I better go stop her. The last time she got a hold of the house, she didn't stop for 3 whole days and nothing was where it originally was. Then she didn't passed out for about 4 or 5 hours and went running for a few hours. Like I said earlier, I'm going to have to get in shape to keep up with her."_

_"Miss Katherine, would you like some help with your friend? I could give you some ideas to help you increase your metabolism to help keep up with her."_

_"If I don't make any progress over the next few days I'll consider it. And Klaus don't even think about showing up trying to help. I can see the gears turning in your head and I don't like it. She's not a challenge, she's an impossibility."_

_"Keep talking Katherine and we'll show up every morning at your house and store. You won't tell me what to do. I said I wasn't going to bother her, so don't make me do otherwise."_

_"Better not. Elijah, I wish you a goodnight. Klaus, bye."_

_"Brother, I seem to find myself in agreement with Katherine. You look like you are planning something."_

_"I'm not planning anything, but I am curious about her."_

_"How did she gain your curiosity in a day's time?"_

_"Different things, but the main thing was she doesn't break a staring contest. I'm talking about a full glare; she doesn't back down or waver in the slightest. It's like she feels nothing when she looks at a person."_

_"Perhaps she doesn't. She's a widow with no interest in dating again, very few friends, and health problems. Perhaps she cuts herself off from feeling so she can cope with her losses."_

_"Every one of her friends says she used to be one of the happiest people they knew; that even after losing her parents she would still smile through everything. I guess losing her husband and unborn child broke her."_

_"What child?"_

_"She revealed to Stefan that she was pregnant during the accident she was in with her husband. I don't think she meant to reveal it in front of me, but I think she just snapped. The crash caused her to miscarry and she watched her husband die before she lost consciousness."_

_"That's a very deep pain for a woman; losing a child. It has only been a couple years since the incident, but my opinion is it will take a while longer before she opens herself back up."_

_"Not every woman feels pain with losing a child."_

_"What is that supposed to mean, brother?"_

_"Don't ask me how I found out, but I was doing some digging and found something out about Tatia. When I was gone on that trip a few months ago, she was messing around with you,"_

_"Yes, what is this about?"_

_"She got pregnant Elijah."_

_"But she isn't pregnant now. Did something happen? Why wouldn't she tell me?"_

_"Because she had an abortion Elijah. That is what happened. She willingly went down there and got rid of your child. I say we do not speak to her ever again. She will just deny my claims anyway because she doesn't know I know."_

_"I have no wish to speak to her. She made a decision without consulting either of us about our opinions. It may have been my child, but we were both seeing her. If she was seeing both of us, chances are she was seeing more men and the child could have been someone else's. It no matter now; we cannot change the past. I'm looking forward into the future. Katherine has been trying to help me with letting you know about my misdeeds with Tatia and help me cope with what I've done to our relationship. I have found that I actually enjoy spending time with her. When everything is smoothed over, I hope she may allow me to take her out sometime."_

_"Good for you. I don't think I'm going out for a while. There really aren't a lot of options around here anyway."_

_"I think you'll find out differently. The only woman I've really seen you take an interest in other than Tatia is Caroline, but she may be out of your reach for some time."_

_"Okay, yes, she does spark my interest, but it won't happen Elijah. She has made it perfectly clear to everyone that she wants to be alone; that includes relationships. I just met her anyway."_

_"Well with all of our connections, maybe it would be best to take things slowly and get to know her a little better before you decide. She seems like she is a good person. Katherine was telling me of some of the times she spent with her growing up, since Katherine is Elena's sister. I can find things she likes to do if you want me to. Katherine tells me all of the time what they do together. She also has been telling me that Miss Forbes will likely be participating in ice-skating, running, going to the gym, and doing some gymnastics in her spare time. For the health problems she has, it seems like she isn't letting them hold her back from what she likes to do."_

_"From what I've been told Elijah, she was always energetic, so it doesn't surprise me. And she has already asked Rebekah and me to ignore her if we run into each other, so don't look for it to happen. Besides I'm not really up for more follies at the moment, but indulge yourself. I'll be seeing you brother."_

_"Niklaus don't let this come between us as brothers and don't let it close you off from future possibilities."_

_"Goodnight brother."_

_"Goodnight." _ Elijah replied as Klaus walked away. After the day he had, all he wanted was to go home and sleep, so he left the club.


	8. Chapter 8

**On The Road**

Klaus was driving home when he noticed someone running on the sidewalk. Normally he would have just driven on, but he had noticed the beginnings of snow when he left the club, and he could tell the runner was female. He drove ahead a bit before pulling over to the curb. He opened his door and stood up to catch the runner's attention.

_"A little cold and dark to be out running isn't it?" _he hollered but there was no reaction, so he stepped up on the side walk to cut her off. _"Hey!"_

_"What the hell?" _Caroline asked as she pulled her hood off and earplugs out of her ears. She looked up and noticed it was Klaus and stopped panicking. "At least it isn't a complete psycho!" she thought.

_"Caroline? What the bloody hell are you doing running at this time of night in the snow? Have you completely lost your mind?"_

_"People run in the snow all of the time; and at night! What business is it of yours?"_

_"It's not, but I didn't know it was you until you pulled your hood off."_

_"Uhh! You want to lecture me about running at night in the snow, but you were the one who came out of nowhere!"_

_"I was going to see if you wanted a ride home. Normally I would have just kept driving, but I didn't think a woman would mind getting off the street."_

_"I'm fine. Why do you keep popping up everywhere I go?"_

_"Just lucky I guess love. I told Elijah what I found out tonight. I didn't tell him where I learned it from, but I felt it the right thing to do. He said he wasn't going to dwell on it and move forward. He actually likes your friend Katherine."_

_"It would appear she likes him too. She's been meeting with him a lot lately and I've seen him in the bookstore."_

_"You work there with her don't you?"_

_"Yes."_

_"It suits you. I saw you reading earlier. I imagine that you read during your down time there?"_

_"That or organize something."_

_"You like order in things." _He observed.

_"Yes. Is something wrong with that?"_

_"What do you do when you don't get your way?"_

_"Depends on the situation. I don't mean to be rude but I'd like to get back to running now. It's been a very long day and I have to be ready for tomorrow night."_

_"Ah yes, the full moon ritual you were talking about. May I come?"_

_"Uhh I don't think you want to. It's nothing big and it's just Stefan, Damon, and I then. The other covens won't be coming until Yule. That's when you're invited, so you should probably wait until then."_

_"Is it a problem to be curious? I saw everything earlier and I would like to see the easy stuff."_

_"Tomorrow is cake compared to today and there are far worse things that could happen than what you saw today. You have no idea what you opened yourself up to by going outside tonight."_

_"Stefan mentioned that earlier. Why don't you join me in the car and explain it to me. It's warm in there and I would like for you to explain it to me further."_

_"I can't. I have something I have to do tonight. It's another reason why I'm running. I'm going somewhere."_

_"I can give you a lift and get you there faster."_

_"No. It's private and I don't want anyone to know."_

_"What is with you and keeping secrets?" _He asked as he stepped closer to her. _"It can't be something dangerous or you would call for Stefan and Damon. Private must mean it's something personal. What are you up to?"_

_"I'm heading to set something up for a spell. I only do it once a year and I've only done it a couple times, so I have to do early preparation."_

_"So this is something you started after your husband died?"_

_"Yes."_

_"Does it have something to do with him?" _He asked as stepped right in front of her face. She hesitated and it gave him his answer. He noticed her breathing picked up and he dropped his eyes from hers. _"Do you need help?"_

_"No. I do this alone."_

_"At least let me give you a ride."_

_"No because then you'll know where it is and you might say something to Stefan or Damon and it's nobody's business but mine. I'm not going to take any chances on that happening because they will try to stop me."_

_"What? Are you going to try and bring him back or something?"_

_"I can't bring back the dead. Even if I could, it's forbidden."_

_"So what are you going to do?"_

_"Why do you want to know so badly? You don't even know me, so why bother?"_

_"Well one, I'm curious. Two, I want to know more about this life if my sister is going to be involved in it. And lastly, I need a distraction from the events of today."_

_"I told you not to come outside."_

_"Not just those events sweetheart."_

_"I'm sorry about everything that happened with Tatia. She shouldn't have done that to you and your brother."_

_"Surprisingly, I'm not too upset about it. I never expected us to get serious in the first place, but then we got close. I thought I loved her, but I don't think I'm upset enough for that to be true."_

_"Maybe you did, but you could have fallen out of love with her."_

_"Maybe. Doesn't matter now though. So love… how about that ride?"_

_"What are the chances of you leaving me alone until if I say no?"_

_"I could just pick you up and put you in the car." _He said with a laugh. He figured he would get a laugh out of her but she just stood there with a straight face. _"It was a joke love."_

_"I was hoping it was."_

_"I thought it might get a laugh out of you, or at least a chuckle or smile."_

_"I don't do any of those unless I'm working and then I'm forced to put a smile on my face."_

_"I didn't mean a fake one. What's it going to take to see a real one?"_

_"Uhh you and Katherine have both mentioned this subject this week. Listen, I don't ever feel the need to do those anymore, so don't even try."_

_"Well maybe you should. Come on and I'll give you a ride and you can fill me in on what you have planned. I give you my word I won't repeat it to anyone or try to stop you."_

_"Fine. I'm going to the falls."_

_"That wasn't so hard was it sweetheart?"_

_"Just drive." _Was all she replied as they sat in the car. She had to admit it was a lot warmer than running, but when she had left she didn't want her car to wake Katherine up. Klaus whipped the car back on the road and set out for the falls.

_"So what are you planning Caroline." _He asked with a smirk. She looked at him and tried to gauge how much she should tell him. She had figured out he was her mate, but unless she told him about it he wouldn't know. She didn't really feel comfortable with telling him about her plans, but he probably wouldn't give up.

_"There's a spell I can do that will let me see Tyler once a year and it will be like he's actually here. I can see him, talk to him, and feel him. I have to do it on the anniversary of his death for it to work right. I first did it when he had just died so I could say goodbye, but it didn't work all of the way because it was nearly a month after he died. So, I did it again on the first anniversary of his death, and then the second. This will be the third year. I can keep it up until he is reborn. The last time I did it he said he would let me know if it was the last time I would see him or not. We won't see each other in his next life, so I'm holding onto him as long as I can." _She explained. Her eyes started to water by the time she finished but she pushed the tears down. She wasn't going to cry in front him. She felt like he thought she was pathetic with how she did everything, but she didn't say anything.

_"How does that work?"_

_"It's a lost lover's spell. It only works if you lose someone you were married to. I wish it would work for others, but I haven't found one for that yet."_

_"Do you ever write your own?"_

_"All of the time, but not one like that. I could accidently raise the dead and I can't break that rule."_

_"Right. What was he like?"_

_"What?"_

_"Your husband; what was he like?"_

_"We started off friends. He was there for me when my father died and he accepted me for me. The first time he told me he loved me I showed him what I was. He never looked at me differently because of it. We got engaged soon after that and then married. We spent a while together before we started trying to have children. When I found out, I was so happy, I could barely keep it to myself the rest of the week. I thought I was so lucky to have found out the same week as our anniversary that I put the ultrasound picture in his card. We were at the restaurant when I gave it to him. When he opened it up he started smiling so big and jumped up shouting he was going to be a dad. He picked me up and twirled me around before putting me down to kiss my stomach. By the time dinner was over I had already ran to the bathroom twice from the nausea, so he insisted on driving. The things in the road were like what you saw tonight. There must have been 20 or 30 of them and I hadn't been practicing my abilities. They all rushed at the car, but he couldn't see them. One of them took over his body long enough to swerve us off the road. It left him after the first flip. I woke up in the hospital later remembering everything. The doctors came in and gave me their remorse for my losses and sent different people in to talk to me, but I wouldn't talk. The rest is history. So, I do this spell to capture some of the moments with him that I lost."_

_"What do you usually talk about when you see him?"_

_"He tells me to move on and I tell him to drop it and just be with me until morning. He tells me what it's like where he's at, gives me messages from my parents, and just holds me all night. I ask him every time if he regrets the decision to stay with me, but he always says it was his fate to die when he did; that he was supposed to be a temporary person in my life and not permanent."_

_"Maybe he doesn't regret it. I mean, yea you have a crazy life, but it can't be all bad all the time. Maybe he just enjoyed the time you had together?"_

_"Maybe; I don't know. I wasn't always like this."_

_"I know."_

_"How do you know?"_

_"You have talkative friends. Not to mention Katherine and Stefan have both given me a warning to leave you alone. They think I'm going to pursue you now that Tatia and I are over."_

_"Womanizer?"_

_"I have been, yes, I won't deny it, but I hadn't even thought about it. I mean, I'm curious about you, but that's common when you meet new people."_

_"Don't take this offensively, but I'm not interested anyway."_

_"What's the harm in getting to know each other? And I don't take it offensively; I know what you've been through the same as you know my problems with Tatia. I wouldn't think it would be healthy for either of us."_

_"Well I agree with the last statement, but the first one I don't. It could be harmful getting to know each other. I can't be around normal people too often without putting them at risk."_

_"Take a chance Caroline. Come on… I dare you."_

_"What do you want to know now?"_

_"What do you want to do with your life after the big trouble you were talking about is over?"_

_"I'm not going to be here when it's over. I'm not allowed to see my outcome. I'm guessing I'll be dead."_

_"If you survive… what do you want to do?"_

_"I'll think about it when that happens."_

_"Why not now?"_

_"Why bother? I don't want to get anyone's or my hopes up thinking about it."_

_"That almost sounded like you want to survive. You haven't sounded like that since I met you."_

_"Well if I do I'm going to have my powers stripped. I don't want to be this."_

_"This what? I've had a little bit to think about it and I think you treat it too much like a burden. Why not embrace it so you can learn to control it better?"_

_"I don't know. It's hard to explain. There's only one other way to balance my powers and I'm not up for it."_

_"What?"_

_"If I bind with my mate, it would not only increase my powers, but balance them. I know my mate is normal with no powers, so he would be given some of mine."_

_"You know who it is?"_

_"You are the second person to ask me about that today. Stefan seems to think I'm running out of time to find him. I know who it is, I know where he is, and I don't wish to pursue him. It's really hard to fight the pull I feel with it, but I won't have to fight it for long."_

_"Why do you say that love?"_

_"Because I am running out of time. My powers are too strong and they're killing me slowly. The only chance I have to stay alive is to bind with him and I don't want to. I can protect everybody better that way."_

_"So you're going to make yourself a martyr and have to repeat all of this over again?"_

_"I'm not a martyr, but I'm going to make sure I don't have any more lives."_

_"Who is it? Do I know him?"_

_"I'm not giving you information on this. I've said enough."_

_"How hard is it to resist going to him? How would you explain it to him?"_

_"I have no clue how I would even approach the topic, and the pull has been bothering me since I met him."_

_"When did you meet him?"_

_"Can't say. You'll help Stefan figure it out if I do. Now, change the subject because we're almost there and I don't want to talk about it anymore."_

_"Is the pull why Stefan and Rebekah can hardly keep away from each other?"_

_"Yes. It also explains why she acted like she did towards me. That's why I tried my best to behave towards her."_

_"Would your mate feel a pull?"_

_"I don't know, but I repeat, change the subject."_

_"Okay fine. Where all have you traveled to love?"_

_"I'm from here, but when my Dad got remarried he moved us to Virginia Beach. That's it. I've never really been anywhere."_

_"Where would you like to go?" _He asked, but she just rolled her eyes. _"Rome?" _another look and eye roll. _"Paris?" _She shook her head to say no. _"Tokyo?" _he asked with a chuckle. She just closed her eyes and leaned her head back with a sigh.

_"Wow. Must be nice being normal and not having to check over your shoulder constantly. To get to go to all those places and enjoy everything. I've been to a couple places in my past lives, but it wasn't during the modern era so it wasn't as fun as it probably is now."_

_Can you tell if I've had a past life?" _He asked as he parked the car and went to walk with her to her spot. They had to walk a little bit into the woods to get to where she needed, but he saw she had been setting up pretty good. _"You haven't answered my question sweetheart."_

_"I can give you the number of lives you've lived but I can't tell you anything else about it. If I tell you, you cannot repeat it, okay?"_

_"Sure."_

_"I want your word."_

_"I give you my word love."_

_"When you grabbed my arm earlier, you saw something. You were already opened up a little from what you saw, and grabbing my arm pushed the door open a little more. You saw some of your past lives, but not all of them. I managed to get a count then though. You've lived 6 lives."_

_"6? So, if I grab your arm again, will I see something else?"_

_"Yes 6, and no you wouldn't see anything because I block other people when I'm not at a low point. I wasn't feeling good earlier and my block lowered enough to help you see that."_

_"That's a little weird."_

_"A little? It can be downright disturbing depending on the circumstances."_

_"Does it always feel like getting a static shock?"_

_"No, you've just picked the wrong times to grab me."_

_"So, if I was to try it now, I wouldn't get shocked?"_

_"Oh you probably would; you're still new around me and this life. I wouldn't recommend you trying."_

_"Am I distracting you too much? I can go wait in the car if you need silence or space." _He said as he noticed she was looking around and barely paying any attention to the conversation.

_"Doesn't matter to me. I'm just bringing stuff by and making sure everything else is still here. I'm not worried about the tent, but I kept my supplies up in that tree to keep people out of them if this spot was found. It doesn't look like anything has been moved so now I got to climb. Just wait here and I'll be down in a minute." _She said as she braced her foot in a dent in the tree and used momentum to reach a branch above her. He watched as she made her way up about 15 to 20 feet before settling on a branch. He heard a box being opened and items being dropped in it before it closed and she started making her way back down. He figured she might need help reaching the bottom and went towards the branch, but she shook her head and motioned for him to move. She crouched into position before flipping off the branch and landing on her feet.

_"That's a neat trick love. Where did you learn that?" _he asked as he remembered learning about her being a cheerleader and into gymnastics.

_"That was nothing. I've been climbing trees and flipping since I was a toddler."_

_"Well I don't know many people that would do that, much less women."_

_"Don't judge a book by its cover."_

_"Oh sweetheart, I've definitely learned that the last couple days thanks to you."_

_"What do you mean by that?"_

_"Well when I first saw you, I had a hard time being on my sister's side of the argument. You didn't look like you would do what she was implying. You looked so sad, which I learned you were, but you were still holding up. You try to keep yourself covered up so no one will notice that you stand out even when you feel like you don't. You're fiercely loyal and protective, which is a shock since you're small, but now I know you are very capable of following up on those traits."_

_"I'm not small and I do not stand out…"_

_"Yes, you do. I can tell you don't wear a lot of make-up but let me tell you that you don't need it. You're naturally beautiful…"_

_"Stop…"_

_"No let me finish. At first sight, all anyone can see is a normal, beautiful woman, but you are far more than that. You've got a lot of layers to figure out in regards to your actual personality and feelings, but you don't let people get that close. Nothing about your life is normal, but you can't tell that if you don't pay attention."_

_"Are you finished?"_

_"For the moment."_

_"Don't try to figure me out. I have my own reasons for the way I live my life. I'm not normal, so yes I push people away, and I try to be invisible; apparently some people can't take the hint."_

_"Oh I know you wish I would ignore you, but it's a little difficult when we keep running into each other."_

_"Well I guess we'll just have to stop running into each other. You can go home now. I'm going to be out for a while longer."_

_"No can do love. It's cold and it doesn't look like you have your phone or med kit on you. I'm not leaving when you can get sick again and no one knows where you are."_

_"Fine take me home and I'll grab them so I can disappear for a while."_

_"Why do you want to disappear now? Come on; talk to me. I've heard I can be good company. You could show me a few more things."_

_"Fine, but let's go to the benches at the picnic area. There's a fire pit there and it's getting cold."_

_"You going to make another little fireball?"_

_"To get the fire started yes because I don't have a lighter."_

_"I'll grab some wood. Go on ahead." _He offered. She gave him a look and then started walking ahead. When she was out of sight, he realized what he said could be heard as. "Bloody innuendos" he thought. He would definitely have to watch what he said around her. She was much smarter and more stubborn than she looked. Then again, he was curious as to what she sounded like when she laughed and making an idiot of himself might not be a high price to pay to hear it. Everyone she knew was worried about her, so maybe trying to help wouldn't be so bad. She wasn't bad company, just a little awkward. "At least she opened up a little bit before I ran my mouth off" he thought. When he finished gathering wood, he made his way to her. She was sitting on top of a table with her feet in the seat gazing at the falls. "I wonder what she's thinking about." He thought. _"Is this enough?" _He asked. She turned her head and nodded before standing and making her way to the fire pit. While he placed the wood inside of it, she held up her hands and focused on making another fireball. He noticed how soft her hands looked and had to move his attention to where the wood was. "What am I doing? Why am I paying so much attention to her? I just met her; she shouldn't have this much of an effect on me?" was all he could think about as he tried to keep a straight face.

_"So what do you want to talk about?"_

_"I want to talk about you."_

_"We already talked about me."_

_"Yes, but I'm sure there's more to you than magic and tragedy."_

_"Not much. So are Elijah and Rebekah and Elijah your only siblings?"_

_"Uhh no, I have 2 more brother that are living."_

_"So you have your own tragedy."_

_"Yes. My youngest brother died with our parents in an accident."_

_"I'm sorry. It isn't easy losing people, but I guess it can't be stopped."_

_"Seems that way. Katherine was telling Elijah earlier that she was going to have to get in shape to try and keep up with you soon. Should I assume she's not going to have any luck with that?"_

_"I doubt she does. She's pretty good at some things but I know how to disappear when I want to. She'll give up after a week or two."_

_"Elijah offered his help to get her in shape with some health tips."_

_"Why don't you get your brother to distract her some other way? If they like each other, it shouldn't be very difficult."_

_"Well if I do that, how about you let me accompany you on some of your activities?"_

_"Like what?"_

_"You tell me. What all are you planning on doing?"_

_"Going to the gym for the different weight sets, the gymnastics area, and the pool, going ice-skating when the pond freezes, running, walking around in the woods, working, and the list goes on."_

_"I can do a couple of those things. I wouldn't mind having company running either. I was running with Damon but our hours had to change with the club and his job. I have a home gym if you want to come by and use it; it's a decent size. We'll talk more about it later I guess."_

_"I never know when I'm going to run and I paid for the gym membership so I'm going to use it. I had to reserve times for the gymnastics area and pool though, and I have work Monday through Saturday. I'm always keeping busy, so I don't know how well your little idea is going to work."_

_"Well, it's just an idea. You know Katherine and Stefan are both going to be jumping on me for spending time around you. What do you suggest I say to them?"_

_"Don't say anything to them. You can deny it all you want; I don't care."_

_"I wasn't suggesting hiding it; I just didn't know what you wanted me to say."_

_"I know you weren't, but if you don't want them harassing you, then you can stay away from me or not acknowledge that you do talk to me."_

_"Well I'd like to get to know you, so I won't be avoiding you. I told you that I'm curious about you. And I'm not doing anything wrong, so if they start I'm just going to tell them that I wanted to help you."_

_"You're curious because I'm a bit of a freak show and I don't need help."_

_"That's not what I meant. I'm curious because you're interesting, and I think we can help each other. You can teach me about magic so I can help Rebekah when she learns about it and I can give you company or a distraction."_

_"I'm not interesting, but it's a deal. There are deal breakers with this though. If I think being around me could be dangerous or something comes up, you will have to listen to what I tell you. If I tell you to leave or not to do something, you better listen."_

_"I think I do that love. Maybe you could also try being friends with Rebekah? She was pretty upset that you wouldn't talk to her tonight."_

_"We'll see how she takes the news of what we are first. You didn't take it too well at first either."_

_"True but I hope I'm rectifying my reaction now. I was only worried about my family and I've seen what you all do. I don't think you do anything wrong and you're not evil; you're far from being evil. That's one thing anybody can see. You have this light about you; it's hard to describe."_

_"Maybe you're seeing my aura or something?"_

_"What do you mean?"_

_"Everyone gives off a different hue of the different colors. Normally I give off purple or white but it can change with my mood. You're giving off blue right now."_

_"How come I can't see it?"_

_"Go stand next to the water and focus on looking at your forehead. The color you see surrounding yourself in your peripheral vision is your aura."_

_"Alright, I intend to see this." _He said with a smirk as he stood to do what she instructed. She kept her eyes locked on the fire. She wouldn't let him know that he almost caused her to smile a couple times already. She didn't need to let him figure out anything about their link, so she kept focused on hiding herself. The pull was really strong at that moment and she started feeling tiny shivers up and down her spine as he made his way back to his seat. He debated sitting next to her, but he didn't want to make her uncomfortable so he returned to where he had been sitting. _"I think you're right about the blue. I couldn't really see that could with the water rippling against the shore."_

_"Use a mirror some time. Just don't expect it to always be blue. You were surrounded by green the night we met."_

_"Do you even have to focus to see other people's auras?"_

_"Not now, but I used to. It comes in handy when reading someone's mood or trying to figure out whether or not to trust them."_

_"And how am I doing on that front?"_

_"You're a good person, but I'm not going to base my trust of what your aura is."_

_"How about you do to me what you did to Tatia; just not add any persuasions. You can take a glimpse at some of my memories."_

_"No. You might get glimpses of mine while I'm reading you. You forget you're opened up now. It's almost impossible to close that door once you open it."_

_"Would it be so bad? It might be a good way to get to know each other."_

_"It could be bad. There are things in my life that you don't need to know about, and I'm pretty sure there are things you don't want me to see in yours."_

_"Well if you ever change your mind, let me know. I better get you home soon though; it's almost dawn."_

_"Yea I have a lot to do today before meeting up with Stefan and Damon. At least it's Sunday."_

_"Yes the one night a week the club is closed."_

_"Same goes for the bookstore. Katherine wanted to have it closed on Saturdays too, but I begged her to keep it open. Turns out people shop more then than the rest of the week."_

_"Do you ever sleep?"_

_"Yes, I just have a hard time doing so. You would too if all you ever saw were nightmares or premonitions."_

_"Probably would. I already have problems sleeping. I can be as tired as I can be and when I lay down, I just get restless. Well it looks like we're both insomniacs. Maybe we should exchange numbers so we aren't up all night bored."_

_"I don't think we should. And I don't get bored when I can't sleep. I simply find myself something to do."_

_"Well let's continue this conversation in the car. I'll get some water to put this fire out with."_

_"No need; just watch." _Caroline said as she closed her eyes and called the fire back into her. He watched as the fire changed forms and went through her hands and traveled through her body. She was even glowing for a moment. He stepped closer to her as the embers died from her pulling them in. When he was right beside her he reached his arm up to try and see if her skin felt different when it was glowing, but she opened her eyes and he froze. She locked her eyes on his hand and stepped back out of reach before lifting her eyes to his. _"We should go." _Was all she said before walking around him and heading to the car.

_"I'm sorry; I was wondering if you would feel differently while you were glowing." _Klaus spoke as he sat down in the car and avoided eye contact. He started the car and began driving back to town.

_"I wouldn't and you could have seen something. I'm open when I do magic. Don't forget that or you might see something you don't want to."_

_"I am sorry. I don't know what came over me or what that was, but I couldn't move away."_

_"It's the magic. Some people are more drawn to it than others."_

_"Then why didn't I react to Stefan or Damon earlier? I think it's you."_

_"It's not me. I'm not doing anything that I've not been doing for years. I think it could also be because you're new to all this. When the new wears off, it won't catch your eye so much."_

_"I still think it's you, but we'll see."_

_"If you want to keep saying things like that then you can pull over and I'll run the rest of the way home. I'm not doing anything, so stop saying that it's me."_

_"I'm not pulling over and leaving you to walk home. And I'm not saying it's you to accuse you of anything. It's actually a compliment love."_

_"Don't compliment me then. I told you we might manage to become friends the same as Rebekah, but there would be things that you can't do. That's one of them."_

_"What's wrong with compliments? Everybody likes them."_

_"I've not liked compliments for nearly 3 years, so please keep them to yourself."_

_"No promises sweetheart." _He replied with a smirk. She just rolled her eyes and looked out her window. The snow had been picking up while they had been out at the falls, but it wasn't slick yet. When Caroline thought about it, she wasn't sure he knew where she lived. She would like for him not to know, so she decided to act fast.

_"Just drop me off at the square. I don't live far from there and you still have to get home."_

_"Caroline, I know where you live; we all met up there to get medical supplies for you when you went to the pond. It's not that close to the square, so I will drop you off right in front of your house."_

_"Fine but don't blame me if Katherine sees you and picks a fight." _She replied hoping he wouldn't see through her plan.

_"I'm not worried about Katherine, but nice try love."_

_"Why do you persist in trying to aggravate me?"_

_"I don't want to aggravate you, I'm just being friendly. You are being rather difficult with that. Now, we're here, so I will see you later. I'm going to swing by tonight during the ritual so I have an idea what to expect for the Yule celebration."_

_"Uhh fine. Just listen this time or you won't be involved anymore."_

_"I'll see you later Caroline."_

_"Bye."_


	9. Chapter 9

**Full Moon Ritual**

Caroline had spent all day focusing on the ritual before calling Damon and Stefan to tell them about the uninvited guest for the night. After chastising her for running so late, Damon started laughing at her aggravation while Stefan said to just ignore him. Katherine hadn't taken the recent events well either. Caroline reassured her that he hadn't overstepped any boundaries yet, but if he did then she would tell her. Katherine made dinner plans with Elijah for the night since Caroline would be out. Rebekah had begged Stefan and Klaus to go to the ritual, but they both told her to wait for Yule. When they wouldn't budge, she decided to go and see her brother Kol at his apartment, unless he had a girl over, and then she would see her brother Finn. With everybody ready for the night, Caroline went to change into her ritual clothes before heading over to the boarding house. She parked her car, grabbed her bag, and started walking down the trail. Stefan saw her walking by the window and asked Damon to wait on Klaus and walk him down. He needed to talk to her and find out what was going on.

_"Care wait up!" _He yelled

_"What?"_

_"I'm heading over now; I can walk with you."_

_"So are you going to tell me what happened last night or are you going to avoid the subject?"_

_"Nothing happened. I went for a run when out of freaking nowhere Klaus shows up and offers me a ride. I needed to go somewhere and he took me there and then brought me back home. End of story."_

_"What did you guys talk about?"_

_"Mostly magic. He kept asking me different things, so I answered him the best I could."_

_"So why is he coming here tonight? He wasn't supposed to come until Yule."_

_"I don't know Stefan; the guy refuses to listen when someone gives him instructions. I told him not to come tonight, but he said he wanted to be know what to expect at Yule."_

_"Anything else?"_

_"Like what Stefan?"_

_"Other than magic, what did you guys talk about?"_

_"He asked a few questions about me and said he wanted to help. I politely told him no and gave every excuse I had to him."_

_"I think he likes you."_

_"Well it isn't going to happen. I have no interests and you know it."_

_"Caroline, is it Klaus?"_

_"Is what Klaus?"_

_"You know what I'm talking about. Is it him?"_

_"Why would it be him? Stefan he's just curious because this is all new to him. Maybe you and Damon should try to explain this stuff to him; he might leave me alone then."_

_"I tried to talk to him about it. He kept changing the subject. The only time he talks about magic is when you're around."_

_"Well I can't help it. I don't know what his deal is, but I'm going to avoid him like the plague until he takes the freaking hint. And you will help me do it. He's your friend and he's trying to make me be his and Rebekah's friend too. I don't need any more people around me Stefan. Everybody is on eggshells with me as it is. I just want some alone time."_

_"We're all just worried about you Care. As far as Klaus is concerned, I don't know why he's acting like that with you. He just met you two days ago, he just broke up with Tatia, he's just been introduced to our world, and he keeps staring at you."_

_"What?"_

_"You heard me. When you were at the pond, his eyes barely left you. He was the one that sat behind you and restrained you and he was also the one who gave you the shot in your heart. Last night, he followed us into the alley with your purse and I pulled him into the circle. However, once again, when he saw you his eyes didn't leave you. Next you tell me he found you running and spent a couple hours talking to you, and now he's showing up tonight. I'm going to watch him, but I can guarantee his eyes won't leave you when he sees you."_

_"That's insane Stefan. Why would he stare at me?"_

_"Oh I have a theory, but you refuse to answer yes or not to the main one. You're being defensive and avoiding which makes me believe the answer is yes. However, I can't tell because this is Klaus and he's considered a ladies man."_

_"Okay, so you think that Klaus, who has a certain reputation, is my mate, but you don't know for sure. How long are you going to keep at it until you give up?"_

_"You just avoided answering again. Now I'm almost certain that he is. What are you going to do about it?"_

_"There's nothing to be done. Let it go Stefan. If you care any about me, you will drop this and not even think about it again."_

_"I care, but I won't stop until I know. Here they come so let finish setting up."_

_"I know they're coming. I can feel my annoyance setting in already." _She replied and he burst out laughing. He couldn't stop and ended up sitting on the ground so he wouldn't fall.

_"Hey Blondie, what did I miss? I want to know what's so funny."_

_"I said I knew you two were coming because I could feel my annoyance setting in." _She answered as Stefan started laughing again and Klaus and Damon gave their own smirks and small laughs.

_"You wound me Blondie. What have I ever done to annoy you?"_

_"Plenty, now get ready."_

_"Lighten up. You have to have a clear head tonight."_

_"I'm thinking clear right now, so don't change that. Let's just get tonight over with."_

_"Okay. Oh by the way, Elena was talking about throwing you a Birthday party. I know it's in a couple days, but she wants to throw you one on Saturday. Is that alright with you?"_

_"Actually no it isn't. One, I have to work that day, and two I don't celebrate my birthday anymore. Everyone knows that, so why keep trying to change my mind?"_

_"Because it's your birthday and we want to throw you a party. How about Sunday?"_

_"My answer is no Damon. I have things to do."_

_"Oh come on sweetheart, let your friends throw you a party." _Klaus interrupted. He saw her getting agitated and her eyes shifting colors.

_"I'm going to explain this to you once, so pay attention. I don't celebrate my birthday anymore. Tyler proposed to me on my birthday, and we were married shortly after. So, excuse me if I'm not in the mood to party while I have that in my head." _She said as her eyes reddened further and she turned towards him. Damon pulled her attention back to him.

_"Blondie, he's gone and he's not coming back. He wouldn't want you like this and you know it. He loved you and he would want you to live and be happy instead of being miserable every day."_

_"Enough with the pep talks Damon. Now either let me clear my head again and do this ritual or you guys can do it on your own and I'll go do one somewhere else."_

_"She's right Damon. Leave her alone; we have things to do and we're losing time. Caroline, go calm down and then you can come back. Everything is set up and ready. I'll draw the circle for you to give you time." _Stefan chimed in and looked at the guys. Caroline walked off to sit down away from them. Damon had closed his eyes to clear his head and Klaus was staring at Caroline's back. He didn't move to go to her, but Stefan noticed him staring at her. _"Klaus, you're going to have to peel your eyes off her and focus on me for a minute. Good, now you'll be in the center behind the altar. We'll be spaced out around you and moving in a circle during some of the time. You are not going to move once you sit until we end. Are we clear?"_

_"Yes."_

_"Good. Now, once I draw this circle I will step in and then you will follow me in. Then Damon will come in, and Caroline will be last. We'll invoke the elements and then carry out the rest of the ritual. When the elements are released, you can move. We leave the circle in the same order we go in. Caroline always ends it. Another thing; don't speak during the ritual at all. Things could get intense for you since it's the first ritual you are a part of, but maybe not. You were pulled into a protection ring last night and you've been opened up to these things. So, it won't be too much on you."_

_"Got it mate. Now, are we ready to begin?"_

_"Yes. Damon is already calm and I think Caroline is too. I can't really tell from here though. Now, we need to focus, so don't distract us; especially Caroline."_

_"I got it Stefan. Let's just get this started before I have to take time to clear my head again."_

_"Sure." _He replied as he stepped over the line that served as the circle's edge. He went to stand next to the altar and motioned for Klaus to enter. When he stepped over the line, her felt the rush of energy surrounding him. It made him a little dizzy, but not much. He walked over to Stefan and was seated behind the altar. Stefan nodded to Damon and he entered and went to his place. Caroline walked up to the circle's edge and stopped for a moment. She looked up at the moon and then closed her eyes and crossed the line. Almost immediately, the circle was visibly shining. She walked to her place with her eyes still closed until she made it to her destination. When she opened her eyes, they were once again purple. Klaus watched as they made a complete circle to invoke the elements, and felt as they came after being called. He felt peaceful as he watched them carry out the remainder of the ritual, but he always noticed when Caroline was in his line of sight. He tried to watch all of them, but the way she lead the group demanded attention. Never once did she make eye contact with him, but she could feel his gaze on her. After finishing the ritual, Caroline released the elements back and watched as the guys made their way out of the circle in order. She closed her eyes and made her way back out. When she crossed over the line, she opened her eyes back up. They guys watched as the colors shifted back to blue from purple. Stefan explained to Klaus that they were going to go back to the boarding house and grab a snack and some juice to restore their energy before parting ways. Caroline didn't speak a word the whole walk back; she didn't want to let them know she was hurting again.


	10. Chapter 10

**Boarding House**

After arriving back at the house, Damon went to the kitchen to gather everyone's food and juices. Caroline stretched out on one of the couches, while Stefan and Klaus sat on the other. Damon came in and put the food on the coffee table before sitting in the chair.

_"Care, are you okay? You haven't said a word and you look like you're going to pass out on us." _Stefan asked. She just lifted her hand to give him a thumbs up before reaching over and grabbing her juice. She gulped it down before sitting up the rest of the way and grabbing another. She picked up a sandwich and started eating while the guys dug into theirs. _"Well Klaus, was it what you were expecting?"_

_"It was amazing. I could feel everything. Is it always like that for you guys?"_

_"Well it is for us. Blondie usually has it rough." _Damon answered while Stefan took a bite of his sandwich. Caroline rolled her eyes and finished up her sandwich. She didn't feel like eating anymore, but she did want more juice. She picked up her third bottle of juice and Stefan gave her a funny look.

_"Are you sure you're alright? You're drinking a lot of juice."_

_"What do you expect Stefan? Everyone decided I needed to quit drinking, so I'm substituting." _She said with another eye roll. Damon about chocked from laughing at her answer. Klaus quirked an eyebrow and gave her a smirk. Stefan shook his head and leaned back against the couch. _"I might just crash on the couch if that's alright. I don't feel like driving home tonight."_

_"Blondie, I think you can make it upstairs to your old room. It's technically a guest bedroom now though."_

_"I'm not moving from here Damon. I see those stairs and all I can think is 'no way in hell'." _She replied and all the guys laughed at that one.

_"Real comedian Blondie. Now, march your ass up those stairs or one of us will carry you there."_

_"Whoever picks me up will have not walk away unscathed; I promise you that."_

_"Come on Care, he's just messing with you." _Stefan interrupted.

_"Well I'm tired and I just want to lay here for a bit. I promise I'll leave as soon as I wake up. You know I won't sleep more than an hour or two anyway."_

_"Fine, but good luck sleeping with all of us in here talking Blondie." _Damon said reminding her of another unwanted presence. She could feel Klaus' eyes on her again, but she just put an arm over her eyes, and rested the other over her stomach. _Oh and you might want to go change. You don't want that dress to show off anything when you toss and turn."_

_"Uhh… Shut up Damon. I'm going to change and find a damn blanket. Why don't you all watch TV or something and let me sleep? You know there's nothing to do in here."_

_"Well we could just watch you sleep and pull a prank on you. Remember when we made your face and hair an ice cream sundae?"_

_"You wouldn't. What are you 5 Damon? Just grow up already."_

_"Actually Caroline, it would be best if we were in here in case you needed woken up." _Stefan reminded her. She just huffed and made her way to her bag to go change. After changing, she stopped in the hall closet to grab a pillow and blanket before heading back to the guys. She dropped her stuff down and went to the bathroom. She pulled her hair up into a messy bun and washed her face and hands. She never wanted to smack someone so much as she did at that moment. She positioned her pillow and unfolded the cover before stretching back out and facing away from everyone on her side. She fell asleep within 10 minutes listening to the guys explain what was to be expected from the Yule and other rituals. When they were sure Caroline was asleep, Damon stood up and wished everyone a goodnight before going upstairs. With only Klaus and Stefan left to stay awake, Stefan decided it was a good time to ask questions. _"Klaus, can I ask you a question and you not jump to conclusions?"_

_"Depends on the question."_

_"What are you doing with Caroline? She told me Damon and Katherine about you finding her last night. Why do you want to get to know her after her telling you to ignore her?"_

_"I don't exactly know mate. I've been wondering that myself all day. I don't know why, but it's hard to shift focus off of her when I see her. I think I make her uneasy."_

_"Everybody has a tendency to make her feel uneasy. She doesn't like interacting with many people anymore."_

_"Last night, she made a fire in a fire pit with another one of them little fireballs. Those are really neat by the way. Anyway, when we went to leave, I was going to get water to pour onto the fire, but she stopped me. She pulled the fire back into her and I swear she was glowing; like she was on fire under her skin. I couldn't help myself… I walked over to her and reached up to see if she felt any different from doing that. She caught me before I could tell though and moved away. There were a couple of other things that stood out too. I think I make her uneasy any time we accidently make skin contact. She tried to avoid me with everything she has too."_

_"Well can you blame her? Even if she was normal, she lost her husband; she won't get over that so easy. Next, she doesn't like anybody touching her. Skin contact often leads her to seeing something or something else happening."_

_"Yea but I saw something when I grabbed her arm. She said I shouldn't touch her because she could see into my life and when she's doing magic, I could see into hers."_

_"I have an idea. We just did a ritual, which means you're still really open. She's sleeping and that means her blocks are down. Go pick up her hand and let me know if you see anything. You won't be able to move if you do, but you can talk."_

_"I asked her to do this last night, but she wouldn't let me. Are you sure she won't get pissed about this?"_

_"Oh I'd say she will be, but I told her I wasn't going to back down from finding everything she has planned out. If it will save her life, I'll take the blame for it. She won't stay mad at me for long."_

_"Alright mate. Well, here goes nothing." _Klaus replied as he sat down on the floor next to the couch. Caroline had already turned on her back, so it made things easier for him at that time. He reached his hands up to grasp her hand in his. Stefan scribbled a small note to Damon in case they didn't come out of what they would see for a while. Stefan sat down next to Klaus and made him wait for him.

_"On the count of three, take hold of her hand. I'll grab her arm. Focus on staying together in case I have to try and pull us out. One… two… three." _Stefan spoke and they both made contact at the same time.

**Caroline, Stefan, and Klaus POV**

The guys were pulled into a scene that had both of them shocked. It didn't look like it was even in their timeline and they both darted their heads around until they saw Caroline. It wasn't hard to find her because she was still dressed in her modern clothes. They approached her and she turned around.

_"What are you both doing here?" _She asked. They looked down knowing they had ticked her off.

_"Care, what is this place?" _Stefan asked cautiously.

_"The beginning of all of this. I won't be asleep long, but time slows when I see all of this. It will feel like days here, but it will only be a couple hours in the waking world. You won't be able to pull out until it stops. I suggest you stay close. Don't interfere because it will do no good; this has already happened and can't be changed. Besides, no one can see us. Just follow me; you both get to see me die over and over again tonight." _She replied as she turned from them and started walking behind a similar blonde that had her arm looped around a soldier's arm. The guys followed her wondering why they did this.

_"Care, is that you that we're following?"_

_"Yes. I always look close to what I do now. The guy who she's holding is the past self of my mate. He always looks different, but it's still him. I actually think this version of him is the most similar with our time's self."_

_"Why are we here?"_

_"Because apparently you two don't know when to butt out when I tell you too. You both would have had to touch me at the same time to be here together though."_

_"I know that, but why are we here; in this era?"_

_"Because you wanted answers and this was how the gods chose to answer you. Now, both of you just watch. I've seen this all before." _She replied and turned to watch the scenes play forward. They watched quietly for a while. Klaus watched as Caroline watched everything happen. As the war spread out, they followed her past self and watched as she tried to help ward off the enemy. When the walls crumbled, they didn't have to walk anymore. The scenery changed around them and zoomed them where they needed to be. Stefan and Klaus watched the scene as Caroline turned her back from it. She didn't want to watch herself die again and she knew she was going to feel the pain of the sword when it entered. It was one of the reasons she had heart problems in her present self. Stefan and Klaus drew nearer to the scene as they saw the thrust of the sword. They almost ran to her, but Caroline gritted her teeth against the pain and stopped them. _"You can't stop it; just watch." _She said as she fell to her knees in pain.

_"That's why you have heart problems. Is this how you always die?"_

_"It's always a blade, and it's always by my mate. Can you understand my reluctance now?"_

_"Care, how do we get out of here?"_

_"We don't until you see everything. 5 more rounds to go unless the gods decided to throw some of the future events in."_

_"Why did you fall when the sword went through the past you?" _Klaus asked, although he had a feeling he already knew the answer. He felt a sting when the guy she was with had his throat cut. He felt he already knew why he was seeing this.

_"Because I feel the pain of my death every time I see it. The reason I have problems with my heart is because my current body recognizes that I haven't died yet. I've never lived this long. The longest I've lived before this life was 21. That's how old I was here. Don't worry; the next one won't take as long as this one. We're going forward a couple centuries." _She answered as the scene changed to when the goddess told her what would happen in her future lives, and then on to the next time era. Once again, they watched as she helplessly got caught in a battle and her mate accidently killed her. Klaus felt every time the guy would die, but didn't say anything for a while.

_"Do you feel anything mate?"_

_"No I'm not in this time frame. I was in the first one. I was the one who lit the fire on her funeral pyre. I'll only be in one other one, and I'll die right after her and her mate. Why are you asking me this? Do you feel anything?"_

_"Somewhat."_

_"Well that answers my question. You knew her before. Now who are you feeling?"_

_"I don't think you really want to know."_

_"Guys just shut up and watch. This hurts a lot and I can't pass out here, so at least let me have some peace and quiet." _Caroline interrupted. She knew what they were going to say and she didn't want to hear them voice what they all already knew. As the time kept changing, they got to the point, where they could sit and watch everything play out. She refused to look at either of them until they were caught up to their present selves. She noticed the scene change to something that hadn't happened yet. _"Guys, this hasn't happened yet. Pay attention; we might need to know something that's important." _She instructed as they saw her running through the woods. There were shadow figures darting everywhere. When she broke through the woods and looked out over town, she saw the power go out and she turned to look at the woods again. She held her hands out and was breathing heavily as she closed her eyes and focused on building a barrier to keep those things out of town. She turned to see the shimmering wall rise up and over the town as the lights slowly started coming back on. When she saw the town protected, she turned back to see all of the figures standing there. They watched as fear crept up her face for a moment before she pushed it down and focused. When they zoomed to attack, light burst out of her to surround her and fend off the incoming attack. Knowing they couldn't penetrate the light, they retreated. Falling to her knees with her nose bleeding, she closed her eyes and looked like she was focusing on something. When her eyes shot open she started running down the hill in the direction of the ritual area. When she got there, the scene she saw had her falling to her knees. She could see different people she knew possessed. Klaus and Stefan were in shock when they saw themselves and Damon in the center with their eyes black. Caroline made a barrier to keep them in and made it fill up with light. The wind picked up around them as the people started dropping from the figures leaving their bodies. One by one, they came out of the barrier and ran to help. Eventually, it was only Stefan, Damon, and Klaus left in the barrier. They hadn't been released yet. With a heavy breath she pushed more light in and it released Stefan and Damon. They rushed out to anchor her and finish the job. Once they left the barrier, the scene disappeared. Stefan started yelling wanting to see how it ended. Caroline was breathing heavy and just dropped her head. Klaus sat there shocked and glanced to Caroline.

Suddenly, they all woke up in the living room of the boarding house with Damon shouting over them. It was barely daylight outside and Caroline shot up off the couch and rushed to get her stuff.

_"Caroline, you aren't going anywhere. Sit down and explain what the heck we just saw."_

_"Stefan, I have things to figure out and do before I can do that. You saw everything I did. You know as much as I do. I have to go."_

_"Wait!"_

_"No! Did you not notice your surroundings or what we all were wearing? My guess is that everything we saw will happen in May or June. I have to see if I can see the ending. Now, I'm going, so don't look for me for a while. I'll be back for Yule, but you won't see me before that."_

_"Care wait!"_

_"WHAT STEFAN?! WHAT?!"_

_"You need help with this. Let me help you."_

_"Didn't you see what happened to you? I have to figure out why all of that was happening because as bad as it was, it wasn't what we've been expecting. The trouble coming is worse than that, and it looked like their first tactical move. Divide and conquer looks like the route they're going to take."_

_"I know, which means we should stick together. We'll put up stronger protection wards on everybody's houses and make some amulets for everyone to wear. We have to do something to stop that from happening. You know the easiest way to fail is to go at this solo."_

_"I'll be back in two weeks Stefan. I have to go talk to my uncle's coven. I recognized a couple people in the vision from there, and I have to warn them that something could happen to them beforehand."_

_"Fine, go and come back soon. We'll start with the amulets and wards; although they would be stronger if you were here to help with those."_

_"I'll be back for Yule. Consult the other covens and let them know what's happening. They were there too. Tell them we've seen the first attack."_

_"What about me?" _Klaus spoke up.

_"Stick close to Stefan and Rebekah. Make sure Elijah and Katherine are okay too. My house already has a protection ward in place. I'll tell Katherine to invite Elijah to the house while I'm gone so she has someone there and they're both protected. You and Rebekah need to stay here. I reinforced the wards on this house a while back, so I know they're strong. Nobody can be left alone right now."_

_"Then don't you think you should stay here instead of going off alone?"_

_"Do you honestly think they're going to try and come after me right now? No, they go after others before coming after me. That's always their first move."_

_"When were you going to tell me?"_

_"I wasn't. I'm not repeating the past. I'm changing the cycle this time."_

_"And how are you supposed to do that? By sacrificing yourself? Do you honestly think everybody is going to just sit back and let you do that? You said it yourself; you're older, you're stronger, and things are already different now than they were before. You can change it another way. Do you think anybody wants to see you die? If you let us know what to look for, then maybe I won't kill you this time!"_

_"Wait a minute… what am I missing?" _Damon asked quickly. Caroline glanced at him and then back to Klaus before she ran out the door to her car. Stefan spoke up while Klaus started pacing.

_"He's her mate Damon. I suspected it but she refused to tell me an answer. She doesn't want to be bound to him, and now he knows everything."_

_"So Klaus and Blondie? So Klaus, what are you going to do with this news?"_

_"What can I do? She clearly has no interest in me or being bound to me. I don't even know what to think about all of this yet. I just found out about you guys and it's been a bloody mess since. You know I asked her last night why I couldn't stop being drawn to her and she said it was the magic and not her. I told her I thought it was her, but she denied it."_

_"Can you blame her? You've seen what has happened every time you two have been together throughout time. She doesn't want to do this anymore. And if she uses her free will to choose not to, we can't make her do otherwise. The same goes for you Klaus. If you choose not to use the information you've learned and not bind with her, then no one can make you. It's all about choice." _Damon informed him. He knew Caroline didn't want to fight anymore, but this was their life. He had questions of his own to deal with too. _"Now Stefan, what did you all see?"_

_"After seeing her past lives, we got a glimpse of the first attack. All of us were possessed. She managed to fix us, but the vision ended when Klaus dropped to the ground. My guess is because you woke us up or we aren't allowed to know yet."_

_"What could you see about us when we weren't possessed anymore?"_

_"WE helped her and we were both stronger. I think by May or June I will be bound to Rebekah and you will be bound to Elena. It's the only thing that makes sense. No amount of practicing or training would get us that strong without being bound."_

_"What about Caroline and Klaus?"_

_"I don't think they were, but I couldn't tell. He was possessed until the vision ended and I wouldn't have been able to tell until he left the barrier. I think it's up to them. Klaus, what are you wanting to do?"_

_"I really don't know. What does it mean to be bound?"_

_"When soul mates are bound, it's like a mystical marriage. It goes beyond a normal marriage, and it's divided into 3 parts. Since you both are aware of each other, the first part is halfway over. The first part isn't finished until you both decide it's what you want. The second part is the handfasting ceremony, which is a pagan marriage. The third part is self-explanatory."_

_"What do mean self-explanatory?"_

_"Oh come on Klaus think about it… what happens when people get married? They consummate the marriage."_

_"Is that done a special way too?"_

_"Not usually, but with her it would be a little different. The dilemma you both would be facing is that you can't use any form of birth control and chances are likely she would conceive because fate wants her bloodline to continue. After its continued, she won't have to fight anymore because a new era will be born with them. The battle we're worried about will be over and her powers will carry on to the new generation where there will be peace. They will fix the problems this world has."_

_"They?"_

_"3 children are what have been predicted. So think long and hard about this. Before you even think about joining with her, you have to prepare yourself for a very fast rollercoaster ride. Not only would you have to go through being bound, but it would give you abilities that you would have to learn how to use and control. Do you really think you're ready for something like this?"_

_"That's a lot to take in. I don't know if I could be ready for all of that. Why is it me?"_

_"She used to ask that same question before she found the answer. What you didn't see during the vision was how the story really began. She was originally an immortal; the daughter of a goddess. Her task was to help guide and protect humanity. Witches were formed to help her carry out this task. Normal humans would go to her for help and she would help them. A few would even serve her as warriors. You were one of those warriors. In time she tried pushing her feelings for you away because she was with you all of the time and you both fell for each other. She gave up her immortality so she could live a life with you. She became a witch so she would still have the power to help people, but war broke out because these entities heard about what she had done. Since she was no longer immortal, the gods couldn't help her like they could before and the darkness attacked. You saw what happened when it did. When she died, her mother found a way to fix the mess that was created with her daughter' choice. You two were bound as soul mates and forced to repeat everything until you could break the cycle. To do that, you have to be bound and you both have to survive when darkness attacks. Then you have to carry on the bloodline. When you accomplish that, the cycle is broken and you both will be at peace and be able to choose whether or not you want to live any more lives. If you do then you get to have a normal happy life, but if you don't you get to journey together forward into the next world where you will still be happy."_

_"So this cycle is pretty much a punishment for her?"_

_"For both of you. The love you shared in that first life was forbidden. Immortals and mortals are not supposed to be together, but you both broke that rule. This is the only way to make up for that, but you can't be forced into it. You have to choose it and so does she. You can leave her alone now and stay far from her if you choose to, but I really hope you don't."_

_"I need time to think about this. I'm going to stay here and learn more about all of this before I make a decision."_

_"That's fair enough. At least you didn't just say no and run. Listen Klaus, I know you. You would do anything to protect your family; the same as she would. I think you guys have a better shot at fixing this in this life than you've ever had before. There are already so many things different already."_

_"I saw that, but I still need time to decide. I'll give you my choice when she comes back. I want to talk to her first. By the way… what date was it that her husband died?"_

_"Why are you asking me about that?"_

_"It's just something she talked about."_

_"Well her birthday is in 2 days. Add a week and you have her anniversary, and then another week and you have Yule. December is a very busy month for her."_

_"You aren't kidding mate. It feels like I've run a marathon since Friday. I don't know if I can handle this kind of stuff all of the time."_

_"Listen here Klaus AND Stefan… do you think she wants to do this anymore? This is destiny and you both may have free will, but how long do you think the pull can be fought? I feel the pull to Elena every minute of every day; I'm not waiting much longer. Elena will be coming to Yule too. Stefan, you feel that same pull to Rebecca and she feels it to without knowing what it is. Klaus, you've been drawn to Caroline from the moment you laid eyes on her. Has she talked to you about the pull?" _Damon interrupted and asked.

_"Yes. She mentioned that she knew who her mate was and where he was; thinking about it now, I guess I should have known who she was talking about. She said she was fighting the pull and that she was going to continue fighting it."_

_"How long do you think she'll be able to fight it with everything going on?"_

_"I don't know because she seems both the strong and stubborn type."_

_"How long do you think you can fight it? You don't have magic, and you may be stubborn, but without powers you will give in before she will. You might want to think about that when you're making your decision."_

_"I am thinking about that. Yes, I feel a pull and it's strange and strong, but that doesn't mean I can't fight it like she does."_

_"No, it doesn't, but it will be harder as time goes by. Each time you see each other or get close to each other the pull will get stronger. That's why she's left. Even after she gets back, don't look to see her often because she's going to avoid you more than anyone else." _Damon explained as he poured them a round of drinks. Stefan looked like he was deep in thought and finally spoke up.

_"What if he decides to give in? How could we help him with her?"_

_"What makes you think I'd give in before she would?"_

_"Just hear me out. She's told you to ignore her and you didn't. She's been trying to avoid you, but you haven't tried to avoid her at all. You think it was an accident you saw her on the road? You were drawn to her without even realizing it. If you both decide to fight this… you'll give in before she would. I think you already are, but I'm not getting into that right now. Right now, Damon and I need to figure out how to help you when the time comes."_

_"If I decide to pursue the bond, I won't need your help."_

_"You might be a ladies man, and have the pull on your side, but that doesn't mean you don't need help. She'll push you away with every move you make. What I was thinking was making sure you knew her schedule and all of the places she disappears to. Study it and then you can pop in on her and she won't have a choice, but to allow your company. She does still use her manners and she thinks it's rude to make someone leave."_

_"And what's to stop her from leaving?"_

_"Well you'll just have to use your charming personality to get her to stay. We'd help you as much as we could too."_

_"I have an idea of my own. I know what she's going to be up to in a week, so I'm going to sneak up on her when she's done. She'll need someone to talk to then."_

_"What is she doing?"_

_"I promised I wouldn't say anything, so to stay on her good side I won't say it, but it's nothing bad. It's just going to be a very hard time for her. I'll start there and see how things go. I still want to get to know her; even if I don't decide to do the bond."_

_"Okay well let us know how it goes."_

_"I will. Now what do we do while we're waiting on her to get back?"_

_"Do as she says. You call Elijah and let him know Katherine will need someone to stay with her. I'm sure Katherine has already been informed to let him stay there. Bonnie and Jeremy need to be kept out of here, so I suggest we give them an early Christmas present and buy them some cruise tickets. Elena and Rebekah need to stay here so Damon and I will call them." _Stefan instructed quickly and pulled his phone out. Damon and Klaus pulled theirs out and walked off to different areas to make their calls. Everybody agreed to do as they asked and plans were made.


	11. Chapter 11

**One Week Later (At the Falls, In the Woods)**

Caroline had been busy since she left, but kept in contact with Katherine. Elijah had been staying with her while Caroline had been gone, and she heard that Elena, Rebekah, and Klaus had been staying at the boarding house. She was glad that everyone had listened to her for once. She had spent the week driving to different towns to meet the leaders of other covens to let them know what she had learned. She could have called them, but she wanted out of town. She took a break to come back for her spell to see Tyler before she would leave again to talk to more covens.

She set everything up and began the spell. She watched as Tyler appeared before her and became solid-like. She finished the incantation and ran to him. He wrapped her in his arms like he had before and they knelt down to the ground. He moved her hair out of her face as she started crying.

_"Hey Care, I've missed you. I've seen everything that's been happening."_

_"I've missed you too; so much. I feel like I'm drowning without you."_

_"Let's just enjoy this time together. This will be the last time you can summon me. I'll be reborn soon."_

_"What?"_

_"Be happy for me. I've seen what my life will be like and it will be great."_

_"I will be happy for you. I just wish I could see you more before you have to leave me for good."_

_"Care, you need to listen to me. You need to bind with him. It's the only way you both will survive this. I can't tell you how it's going to end this time, but I can tell you that it will be worth it to bind with him. You can be happy again. If you don't bind with him, you're going to end up doing into the darkness. I've seen it. That's why the gods are allowing me to see you this one last time. I have to tell you because they know you're holding on to me. Let me go and do what you're supposed to do. Change the cycle, but not with your original plan. Bind with him and make sure everyone is safe."_

_"I don't want to bind with him. I love you Tyler; even though you're gone and not coming back. Being bound or paired to be bound doesn't mean that I automatically love him. I don't want to be bound to someone I don't love."_

_"I know that Care, but you can come to love him. You're made for each other."_

_"But it wasn't always like that!"_

_"I know Care; I know. He didn't have a mate to begin with because one hadn't been made for him. When you gave up your immortality you became his mate. You ARE meant for each other. You can take things slowly between you guys, but please do this. I don't want to be reborn into a world that is covered with pain and darkness and that is what will happen if you don't bind with him. I want to be given the peaceful life I saw."_

_"Tell me about that life. I want to know how happy you'll be."_

_"I'll be just as happy there as I was with you. I won't know anything about magic and I'll have a family and a good job. I'll live a long, healthy life before I pass away at an old age. I won't remember any of this or you. That's the only thing I'll miss; you."_

_"I want that for you. I want to see you happy. What will you look like?"_

_"Well, I'll look almost like I did when I was with you. My hair will be a lighter brown and my eyes will be green. You won't see me in that life or any future lives. I'll be with my mate there. I was always fated to die young so I could be reborn with her. The gods just decided to put us in each other's lives to fill the void and give us something to be happy about."_

_"I know we weren't meant to be, but you meant everything to me."_

_"I know I did. But, it's time to let me go. I can't stay until dawn this time. I'll be leaving soon and you have things you need to do. By the way, Beltane would be a nice date for you."_

_"But that's too close to the first attack."_

_"Yes, but it will still give you enough time to get things done."_

_"So can I avoid him until then?"_

_"No. Take your time getting to know him, but go through with the binding. You need each other. I can't tell you the future I see for you both, but I don't have any doubts about you guys."_

_"Don't go yet. Please just stay as long as you can."_

_"I'm trying Care, but it's almost time."_

_"No. I love you Tyler. I will always have you in my heart. I just want a little more time with you."_

_"I love you too Caroline. It will be any time now." _He said as he started to shimmer. She wrapped her arms around him and started crying again. She felt him dissolving underneath her and cried harder. When he disappeared, she fell forward onto the ground. She lied there crying for nearly an hour before she heard footsteps coming up behind her. She sat up and looked to see who it was while rubbing the tears from her eyes. She saw Klaus walked right up to her and sit down beside her.

_"What are you doing here?"_

_"It's almost dawn and I knew you would be here."_

_"I want to be alone right now."_

_"You shouldn't be. I'm guessing the spell didn't last long because it looks like you've been crying for a while."_

_"He had to leave. He's not coming back again. He's getting reborn." _She replied as she started tearing again. She looked away for a minute before she moved to gather her supplies. Klaus reached his arm out and stopped her. He made sure to avoid skin contact, which was easy when they were both in long sleeves.

_"It's going to be alright. He's getting to live again. Does he know what is going to happen?"_

_"Yea he's going to live a long happy life. He said he won't see me again. He's going to be born so he can be near his mate. They'll find each other and have a family."_

_"That's a good thing isn't it?"_

_"Yes."_

_"So, what are you going to do now love?"_

_"The time to fight is coming up. I've got to get ready for that and I have to leave again. I've been talking to other covens and having them make preparations."_

_"Will you still be back for Yule?"_

_"Yes."_

_"Are you staying then or are you taking off again?"_

_"I don't know. I don't really want to be here, but I have to make sure everyone is safe."_

_"I've been talking to Damon and Stefan. They moved up the dates on telling the girls. They wanted to wait on you, but they're getting impatient. I think you should come back long enough to show them like you showed me. You can leave directly after and they can decide what they want to do."_

_"What are you doing?"_

_"Other than talking to Stefan and Damon? Working and wondering how you were."_

_"I'm fine."_

_"Have you thought about what is going to happen with us?"_

_"Not really. I don't know what to do. Even Tyler told me to go through with the binding, but I just need time to think about everything."_

_"That's what I told Stefan and Damon. I think we both need time to deal with this. They said that the pull would only get stronger each time we see each other."_

_"They're right, but there are ways around it. We can stay away from each other and slow it down; weaken the feeling."_

_"Or we could try to get to know each other. I still want to know you. Aren't you even a little bit curious about me?"_

_"Curiosity killed the cat. I've learned to not be curious."_

_"Fair enough, but how about we make a deal?"_

_"What kind of deal?"_

_"Well how about we spend some time together and get to know each other without mentioning anything about the binding? We can be friends until we decide what we want to do."_

_"How much time are we talking about here? There's so much to prepare for and I already told you I keep a busy schedule. I'm sure you have a schedule too."_

_"Yes, but we can work around our jobs and I could always accompany you doing your activities."_

_"Are you sure you could keep up with me?"_

_"I think I've got enough stamina to take on that challenge."_

_"I'm not even going to mention how wrong that sounded?"_

_"I couldn't help myself. You left yourself open for that one."_

_"Maybe I did, but still… it's weird."_

_"Sorry love. I'll try to retrain myself. No promises though sweetheart."_

_"Well I have to get back on the road. There's a lot to do."_

_"Can I come with you?"_

_"I don't think that's a good idea. I haven't told them about you yet."_

_"Why?"_

_"Because neither of us has figured out what we want to do with everything. I can't tell them and leave them expecting us to go through with it. We keep it to us here in town until we make a decision."_

_"You know when it's just us talking about it, I feel like we should, but when we're not around each other I don't know what to think."_

_"That's normal. That's another reason I said we shouldn't be around each other. If we make the decision around each other, you wouldn't know if it was the pull that made you decide or your own opinion. If we decide and we've been away from each other, at least you know that you made your own choice."_

_"Well I told Stefan and Damon I would have my decision made by Yule. Is that enough time for you to decide while you're away from here?"_

_"That's only a week from now. How are you going to make that big of a decision in that amount of time?"_

_"I've already had a week to think about it. One more week should be enough."_

_"Did they explain everything to you?"_

_"Yes they did love, and I don't think it's all that bad."_

_"Are you insane?!"_ She asked as she got right in front of his face. _"You need to take longer than that for this decision." _She stated calmly. When she noticed how close they were she tried to back up, but he grabbed her arms. He bent forward and she leaned back. He only stopped when they could feel their breaths on each other.

_"I am thinking about this. If I feel I need more time than that, I will tell them that, but I doubt I will."_

_"Let go of me"_

_"I'm not going to do anything to you, so just listen to me."_

_"Let me go and I'll listen."_

_"I've dealt with Stefan and Damon bossing me around all week. I'm not taking orders right now. Now, I will give my answer at Yule because I've already made my decision. I'm letting you make your own decision, but don't think you can sway me from mine."_

_"Don't…" _she whispered and looked away.

_"Have we ever successfully fought being bound?"_

_"No."_

_"I don't think we should fight it. I think we should use it to change the ending."_

_"I don't want to be bound to you or anyone else. And we don't even know each other; we just met a little over a week ago."_

_"Listen, I won't expect anything from you. Let's just do the binding ceremony and we can figure out what we think about each other then."_

_"You don't get it. Once someone is bound, they can't be away from their mate for long, unless they're dead."_

_"Perfect opportunity to get to know each other. I know you're afraid…"_

_"I'm not afraid…"_

_"Yes you are, but we can change things. If you haven't noticed, I have just as much to be afraid of as you because I watched as I died right after you in all those lives. Now that tells me that the best thing we can do is work together to get through this."_

_"Okay so you have a point with that, but it's still a lot to think about. Think it over again and make sure you've decided what you want; not what you think you're supposed to do."_

_"I'll keep thinking, but I'm not going to change my mind. I thought I would tell you before I told them. I don't know which way you're leaning towards, but I thought you might consider it more if you knew my choice."_

_"Your choice has no bearing on mine."_

_"You're going to say no, aren't you?"_

_"I said I didn't know."_

_"Take me with you this week. You don't have to let anyone know who I am, but you can spend time with me and make a decision then."_

_"I can't. It may expose you and everyone we know by taking you with me. Just give me this week to think, okay?"_

_"What day are you coming back?"_

_"I won't be back until right before the ritual starts. After we finish, Stefan and Damon will ask Rebekah and Elena if they still want to be a part of their lives. If they do, I will do the handfasting. If not, then they will be given time to think more on it, but I will have to use a spell to keep them from telling other people."_

_"If we agree, will we be bound then?"_

_"No. There's too much to do that night and I won't have the strength to do any more for a couple days. I don't want to get bound right away anyway."_

_"When would you want to do it?"_

_"Tyler mentioned Beltane which is in May."_

_"I thought you said the attack would happen in May or June."_

_"I did say that. Tyler said there would still be enough time. He knew what would happen, but he refused to tell me. He wasn't allowed to give me very many details."_

_"So you think he was trying to tell you that we would be bound in May? That's almost 5 months from now."_

_"Well Beltane is May 1__st__ so either he meant us or the attack would occur then."_

_"Why wait that long?"_

_"Because I'm not too comfortable with the ending of the binding ceremony. I'm sure you being a guy don't have a problem with it, but I do."_

_"You wouldn't have a problem, I assure you love. The only thing I'm worried about is what Stefan and Damon mentioned regarding that part."_

_"What was it?"_

_"They said you would probably conceive during that part, and that we wouldn't be allowed to use birth control."_

_"We only have to do that once. Later on if we decided to do THAT, it would be however we decided it. Oh this is way too awkward of a conversation for me. I don't think I can do this."_

_"Out of everything, you're worried about the… What did they call it…? Consummation part?"_

_"I'm not comfortable with the idea of it, that's true."_

_"Why?"_

_"Multiple reasons. One, we don't know each other and that means we don't really feel anything towards each other. Two, we wouldn't be far from everyone that attends the ceremony which means they could hear. Three, I've only ever been with Tyler. There are other things, but I don't want to keep rambling on."_

_"I'm sure we'd work it out sweetheart." _He answered with a smirk and released one of her arms so he could push her hair out of her face.

_"You're still not funny." _She said with a small voice. _"Will you let me go now? I won't run off right away."_

_"Okay but I'm not moving from this spot. You've got to get comfortable with me being close to you if we're going to do this."_

_"I thought we hadn't decided yet?"_

_"Not officially, no, but like I said, we're just waiting on you."_

_"I really need to leave so I can get everything done in time to get back."_

_"There you go trying to run away again love."_

_"I'll be back in a week. We can discuss this more then."_

_"Are you going to give me your number, or am I going to have to get it off Stefan?"_

_"Fine. Follow me to the car and we'll swap."_

_"Are you going to answer me if I call or text you?"_

_"I never said I would."_

_"Very well sweetheart. At least let me know if you get into trouble and need me to send your back-up to you."_

_"Fine." _She said as she took his phone and called hers. She stored her number in his phone and handed it back before doing the same with hers. _"There; now you have my number. Don't use it unless it's an emergency please. I don't know when I'm going to have to focus and it could distract me."_

_"Oh come on love, I know you turn your phone off when you're using magic. I won't distract you."_

_"Well I'm going to hit the road. I'll be back next week. You'll have your answer then."_

_"I'll see you later Caroline." _He replied as she sat down in her car and closed the door. After she started the car, she turned back to look at him and give him a nod. He was still looking at her with a smirk. As she drove off, he shook his head and chuckled. He couldn't help but think it was funny that she could fight the things that go bump in the night, but when it came to him she was skittish. He made his way to his car and looked at his phone. He debated sending her a text to see if she would answer him. He didn't know if she was going to drive straight through to her destination or stop off at her house, but he was curious as to where to location was.

**I don't want to bother you love, but I was wondering where you were headed to first.**

He sent the text and started his car. He was surprised when he heard the ding of his phone signaling a text.

**Seriously? I don't want to have to pull over repeatedly because you decide you want to text me. But, since you asked so nicely, I'm headed over to Roanoke. It's not far and I'll be there for 2 days. Then I'm headed to North Carolina for the rest of the trip.**

**Well love, at least you get to see new places. Would you do me a favor and send a quick text at night when you make it back to wherever you're staying?**

**Fine I will. Now I have to get driving again. I will text you tomorrow.**

He smiled as he read the text. Stefan and Damon would be glad to get updates on how she's doing and they could help him with her. As he drove back to the boarding house, he thought about how lucky Stefan and Damon had been to be able to spend time getting to know their mates, instead of the reverse. He wondered if Stefan had any pictures of Caroline when she was growing up, or grown, that he could see her actual smile. He hadn't even managed to get a fake smile yet and it bothered him. He wasn't used to her kinds of reactions. He sent a text to let Stefan know he was on his way back and he needed to talk to him before setting his phone down for the rest of the ride.


	12. Chapter 12

**Boarding House (Stefan and Klaus POV)**

When Klaus arrived back at the boarding house, everyone was asleep except for a grouchy looking Stefan. They walked into the kitchen and sat at the kitchen island. Stefan was inspecting Klaus' appearance to see if he could figure out what he had been up to.

_"Don't worry Stefan; I wasn't doing what you're thinking. I saw Caroline tonight."_

_"Is she back in town?"_

_"She was, but only for a little while. I knew she would be and where I could find her, so I went to see her."_

_"Okay, so how is she doing first off? Secondly, what was she doing?"_

_"Will you not say I told you about it if I told you? I think she might be starting to tolerate my presence and I don't want to mess that up."_

_"Sure."_

_"She used a spell so she could see Tyler again. It was a lost lovers spell or something. She said she wouldn't be able to do it again because he was going to be reborn and be with his mate. She's been doing it every year since he died. I went to make sure she was alright afterwards. She was pretty upset, but her health was fine. When she left she was doing better."_

_"Why wouldn't she tell me she was doing that?"_

_"She thought you would stop her."_

_"I probably would have."_

_"He's been giving her information that could help though. It may have made her hold onto him longer, but I think it helped her realize that it wasn't her fault that he died."_

_"She still should have told us."_

_"I found out the night I picked her up while she was running."_

_"Well at least she's talking to you. That should make it easier on you."_

_"Well look at my phone then. We exchanged phone numbers too."_

_"How did you manage that one?"_

_"I told her I wanted to make sure she was okay while she was away. She agreed to send me a text when she made it back to where she was staying and I told her I would keep you guys updated."_

_"Will you actually keep us updated or was that just to get her number?"_

_"I told you to look at my phone. She told me where she was going."_

_"I already knew where she was going. I help her keep up with the coven locations."_

_"You don't look too happy that I'm actually trying to get to know her."_

_"I'm not too certain that you're taking this seriously. What else did you two talk about tonight?"_

_"We discussed binding."_

_"What about it?"_

_"We discussed our current thoughts about it."_

_"What are your currents thoughts about it?"_

_"I told her I already decided what I choose, and that I will let you and Damon know at Yule. She thought I needed to think on it some more, but I'm pretty sure about my decision. She wouldn't give me an answer for her. She's waiting on Yule."_

_"Since you're so sure about what you've chosen to do, why don't you go ahead and tell me now?"_

_"You obviously have a problem with the way things are going, so I'll go ahead and tell you; I'll do it."_

_"Why would you agree to it so soon?"_

_"I'm not entirely sure on that one mate. I don't think it's just the pull that draws me in to her. She seems interesting without it. Matter of fact, I was hoping you would have some pictures or home videos I could see."_

_"Yea I do. Follow me to the TV room; they're all in there. Some of the pictures we have are on the walls or in the different rooms, but most are in the photo albums." _He said as he moved through the house. Klaus followed Stefan and sat down on the couch in front of the TV. _"Do you want to see pictures or videos first? There aren't many videos of her here; most videos with her in it are locked up in storage with her mom's stuff. I'll start them and you can look at the pictures when we're done. I think I only need to play 2 videos really. Just be warned; they also have Tyler in them. You probably won't recognize her. She's so different now. The first one is when the girls were doing a dance number and Damon thought it would be funny to record it for blackmail, but he forgot to turn the camera off, so we ended up being in the video. You'll see me with my ex Lexi; it was right before we broke up." _He explained and hit play on the video. He sat down next to Klaus to relive the memories of that night. Klaus watched every second of the footage. He didn't even want to blink. The way she was dressed and acted was complete opposites of how she did now. There wasn't one shot of her in the video where she wasn't smiling or laughing. It made him smile to see how happy she was in the video. Stefan had been right to warn him about Tyler; he couldn't help but notice the way she had looked at him. He didn't know if they would ever look at each other like she and Tyler had in the video, but he wanted to believe they would.

_"What's the other video about?"_

_"It's from she and Damon made a bet to see who could outdo the other. We set up an obstacle course and made it a rule that they couldn't use their powers to win. It was purely physical. It's hilarious. Damon is the worst sore loser I have ever seen; especially when he loses to a girl."_

_"I can't wait to see this one."_

_"I bet. It was summer so she's barely in clothes and he is just in his shorts. We all went to the pond afterwards to swim."_

_"How long is this video?"_

_"It's longer than the last one, but it's funnier. This is one of my favorites of her. Tyler couldn't come with her on that trip, so we got to spend more time with her. This was right after she got married, so Damon was picking on her. That's how the bet got started. Just watch it and don't laugh too loud." _He said with a chuckle as he already had the memory playing in his mind. Klaus turned his attention to the screen and saw Damon and Caroline stretching to prepare for the game. They were both giving each other laughing glares. Klaus chuckled at the sight of Caroline doing the splits as a stretch and Damon telling her it wasn't fair she could do them because she wasn't a guy. The first challenge had been a handstand that Caroline had won. The next challenge was to do as many flips as they could before falling, which Caroline won by a landslide. Damon won the speed race and the tug of war. Caroline beat him at climbing, which didn't surprise Klaus since he had already seen how good she could climb. Klaus and Stefan both laughed during the trampoline challenge; Damon and Caroline had to jump until one of them fell off or down. Caroline integrated flips into her jumps and Damon got distracted by them and missed his landing causing her to win. Then they had to hold on to a bar upside down to see who could hold themselves up the longest, which Caroline won again. They ended up not finishing the full course because Damon was grumbling about losing so much. Caroline had hugged him and suggested everybody go swimming. Before Stefan had turned the film off her asked her what she thought about winning and she replied that she would have enjoyed it even if she lost, but beating Damon had been awesome as she did a little victory dance. The film ended with Damon running towards Caroline and her starting to laugh and run the other way.

_"She really was different then."_

_"Yes she was. Here's the pictures." _He replied as he handed Klaus two huge photo albums. _"Do you want me to tell you the stories behind the pictures?"_

_"I bet there are some hilarious ones."_

_"Oh just about every picture." _He laughed and started describing each picture and the story behind them. They sat there talking until they heard Damon making his way downstairs grumbling because Elena wanted coffee. Stefan put the pictures up quickly and told Klaus that he would show him the rest later when everyone was in bed again. Klaus agreed and went to go to bed. He checked his phone again and noticed there were no new messages.

**Did you make it there ok?**

**What are you doing awake?**

**I'm just now going to bed love.**

**I made it here a while ago.**

**Why didn't you let me know you got there?**

**I figured you would be sleeping like a normal person.**

**You aren't sleeping either sweetheart.**

**I'm not a normal person. I've been setting up a meeting that I have to go to here in an hour.**

**Ok. Let me know when you get back. Get some sleep.**

**I'll sleep later. I'll be gone until night.**

**Its morning and you haven't been in bed. You need sleep too.**

**I will sleep when I can. The coven here has a lot of information and spells to sort through. We might need something.**

**I let Stefan know I talked to you and that you were ok. He seemed a little upset that I had talked to you before they did.**

**He'll be fine. I got to go. I'll text you when I get back.**

**You said you didn't have to be there for an hour.**

**I have to get ready and get something to eat before I go though. Bye Klaus.**

**Ttyl sweetheart.**

After finding out she had made it to Roanoke, he sent a text to Stefan so he wouldn't have to leave the bed letting him know too. Stefan read it before lying down next to Rebekah and going to sleep himself. Klaus was replaying the videos and pictures in his head before he finally fell to sleep.


	13. Chapter 13

**One day before Yule**

Caroline had spent all week sorting through every little piece of information that could help them and convincing to other covens to be on alert, as well as be ready to travel to them when the time came. Klaus had texted her repeatedly during the week, but she only answered him when she had made it back to her hotel and was alone. In a way she was annoyed from the constant texts from him, but it also felt nice to have someone to talk to about little things. She still refused to smile, although she came close a couple times he texted. She thought about the binding and what it would do. Tyler had told her to do it, along with Stefan and Damon. It was a lot to take in, but even if they agreed to be bound, they had already decided they wouldn't do it right away. Neither of them wanted to be bound when they were still like strangers, and Caroline was still having difficulty letting go of Tyler. She still wore their wedding rings around her neck; she couldn't bear to take them off yet. When she finished texting Klaus for the night, she decided to get some sleep; she had a long drive and a lot of magic to do the next day.

Everybody at the boarding house was busy during the week. Damon had told Elena about what he was and that they were mates. He told her that he would show her during the ritual before she made a decision, but she had to keep it a secret until after. Elena had been a little freaked out by everything, but she couldn't imagine leaving him. She knew she was going to decide to be with him, but she told him she would wait on her decision until after the first ritual. After learning everything, she was wishing that Caroline could make it back early, but she doubted that she would. Stefan and Rebekah had made up, but he was getting nervous about the next day, so he decided to tell her that night. He had Klaus be with him when he told her. She didn't believe him at first, but Klaus insisted that she listen to him. After seeing her brother with a serious look on his face, she realized they were telling the truth. Stefan gave her a small demonstration so she wouldn't freak out too much at the ritual. They both kept quiet about Klaus and Caroline being mates, but told Rebekah to think about everything overnight and let them know after the ritual. Then the guys went and talked to Damon to let them know about informing Rebekah. Afterwards, they had Elena and Rebekah sit down with them to go over everything but Klaus and Caroline. They did tell them that there was one more thing that would be known the next day, but they weren't going to let them know until then. The girls spent the rest of the evening together watching TV, while Damon made dinner. Klaus and Stefan went to discuss the latest set of texts that Klaus had received from Caroline. Stefan was warming up to the idea of them being together, but he didn't let himself believe they would yet. Klaus seemed eager, but he didn't know what Caroline would decide. She had always been hard to read, but this was a whole new level. Stefan could tell that Caroline was trying to give the vaguest answers to Klaus, but there were still some jokes thrown in there.

After dinner, everyone but Klaus decided to get a head start on bed. He hadn't heard back from Caroline since she said she was going to bed earlier that evening. He didn't think she would sleep long, but then he thought she might need to. He sent her a quick text to see if she was awake. After not receiving a reply, he sent her another one to let him know when she was leaving there, and when she made it to town. Then he went upstairs to catch some sleep for himself.

**Yule Morning**

Klaus was the last to wake up, but he heard his phone ding to signal a text. He saw that Caroline was just leaving to head home. It would take her a little while to get back, so he went to join the others. Everybody was busy making trips to set up the ritual area, as well as making food for later and gathering drinks. The girls were chatting about what they were thinking about choosing, while the guys were talking about what they hoped happened that night; all of them wanted their mates to agree, but they couldn't pressure them.

Caroline had started off her day okay, but her nerves were increasing with every mile closer to home. She knew she was going to have to tell Klaus what she decided, but she hadn't chose yet. She knew she had to think of an answer before she saw him again though or the pull might influence her decision. So, to pass the time, she set her mind on the choice. He had been texting her all week, and even though it annoyed her at first, she fell into the habit quickly and didn't get annoyed anymore. She still thought they should have more time to decide, but they had said they would say something that night, so she couldn't go back on it. They had a lot of similar traits that she was grateful for. If they had been too different, she would definitely say no. She had Stefan and Damon being older brothers and drilling Klaus so he knew exactly what this meant, and he was still determined to go through with it. She thought he would have said no directly after finding everything out, but he only asked for more information to make an educated decision. She knew he already agreed to it, but there were still certain aspects she wasn't looking forward to. It's not that she was shy; she just didn't feel comfortable with being intimate anymore. Then she thought of what could happen if she said no. How many people would die or get hurt if she did that? Tyler even told her to bind with Klaus; he wouldn't tell her to do something unless it was important. With that in mind, she made her decision.

**The Ritual**

Klaus, Rebekah, and Elena stood outside of the circle area watching as everyone gathered supplies to take inside the circle. Klaus noticed how nervous Rebekah and Elena looked and told them that nothing bad was going to happen and that they would enjoy the experience. They calmed down somewhat, but both were more worried about voicing their choices in front of all the people they didn't know. They also knew that they would be bound to their mates after the ritual. When the time came, Stefan stepped inside the circle and then led Klaus, Rebekah, and Elena to sit behind the altar. Klaus kept scanning the crowd for Caroline. He knew she had made it back to town, but he still didn't see her. Each person stepped over the circle line and went to their positions to wait. Barely a minute after, Caroline stepped out from the trees and made her way to the circle. Like the previous time, her eyes closed as she made her way to the altar and she opened her eyes again; and her eyes were once again purple. Klaus made a mental note to ask why her eyes changed to different colors. The ritual proceeded as planned, but instead of releasing the elements, Caroline called Damon and Elena forward.

_"Have you two made your decisions?" _Caroline asked and they nodded. Damon decided to speak up first.

_"I have decided that I want to bind with my mate."_

_"So have I."_

_"Then let's proceed with your handfasting." _Caroline spoke with a small bow of her head. She picked up the materials she needed and began. The guests watched as Damon and Elena started glowing and showing a small link that connected them, before the link spread and their colors merged to show them in a ball of soft light. The light faded as Caroline finished speaking and having them recite their parts. _"Now you're one." _He spoke softly to Elena with a small smile that only one person really saw. Damon and Elena smiled brightly and kissed each other before moving back to their places. She nodded to Stefan and went to reach her hand out to Rebekah. _"Have you two made your decisions?" _She inquired and they nodded.

_"I want to be with Rebekah every way that I can be. So, my decision is definitely yes." _Stefan rushed and Rebekah gave him a smile.

_"This is all a lot to take in, but if it means that I'm with Stefan, then my answer is also yes." _She said while looking at Stefan and smiling. Caroline nodded and motioned for them to take their places. Everything went as smoothly as Damon and Elena's exchange had. Caroline started feeling the effects of using that much magic and quickly closed the circle. Everyone lined up to leave the circle in order and Caroline sat down to wait. She was having a little trouble breathing, but she focused on staying calm. When everyone was almost out, she stood back up, when she was hit with a dizzy spell and swayed. She closed her eyes and focused on standing still and breathing even. Her nose started pouring blood and she rushed to the circle edge. She made it to the line as the last person crossed over. She didn't waste any time; she kept her eyes closed and passed the barrier. When she felt the air change, she opened her eyes again. Damon noticed her trying to cover up the blood and grabbed his brother to make him help the others get back to the house to eat. Klaus also saw her trying to walk away from the crowd to where she had left her bag. She collapsed once she made it to the tree where her bag was. She braced herself for impact, but Klaus caught her quickly.

_"Oh no you don't sweetheart. We're here and we're going to fix you right up." _Klaus said as he lowered them to the ground. Rebekah came running to them to see what happened, but froze when she noticed her brother rubbing Caroline's head. She opened her purse and took out her pack of tissues before going to sit in front of Caroline and hold the tissue up to her nose.

_"Does this happen to you every time Caroline?"_

_"More times than not. I'll be fine Rebekah. Why don't you go help Stefan?" _She said as she looked at the girl in front of her. Rebekah shook her head to let her know she wasn't leaving.

_"Nik, is there something going on I don't know about?"_

_"Yes, but now is not the time for that discussion. She doesn't look as bad as she has before, so I think we should give her a few minutes." _Klaus replied as he looked down at Caroline and then turned to Damon. Damon had his eyes closed and was focusing on using his healing ability on Caroline.

_"Blondie I need you to point me in the right direction here. What's acting up?"_ Damon asked.

_"Just give me my inhaler. I might get out of getting a shot tonight. My chest is doing fine right now, but I don't want it to start up from this."_

_"Okay; just get your breathing under control before you try to stand. I brought a couple juices out here just in case you used too much energy. Do you feel dizzy?"_

_"Yes, thanks Damon." _She replied as she took the inhaler and juice from his hands. She took a couple puffs from the inhaler before handing it back and closing her eyes. Rebekah took the drink from her hand and twisted the cap off.

_"Honestly… you men are bloody idiots. She weak and dizzy, but you expect her to get the lid off? Here Caroline, keep your eyes open; you need to drink this to stay awake." _Rebekah spoke and tried to help her drink. Caroline drank the entire container in one tilt. Damon offered another and Rebekah took it and helped her drink it halfway down before Caroline pushed her hand down and gave her a nod. Caroline grabbed the container with her other hand and put the lid back on it. She rubbed her nose and checked to see if there was any fresh blood left on her hand before trying to push off of the ground.

_"Come on Blondie, just sit there for a couple of minutes. There's no rush getting back to the house. You can crash there tonight. I don't trust your driving tonight."_

_"I don't want to be on the ground Damon. I want to get up and go inside the nice warm house."_

_"Well you can't even get up; how do you expect to walk?"_

_"I will figure it out. This will pass soon and it's nothing I can't handle. At least things should calm down for a little while before they pick back up."_

_"Don't make me carry you love."_

_"I'm not an invalid Klaus. You will NOT carry me; I just need a minute to make sure I can get up without falling back down. Once I'm up I'll be able to get back no problem." _Caroline grumbled as she tried to push herself off of the ground again. She managed to get on her knees and after a couple of breaths, she stood the rest of the way up quickly and grabbed a hold of a tree for balance. Klaus was suppressing a chuckle from her stubbornness as he stood up himself. Caroline balanced herself steady and proceeded to walk slowly back to the house. Damon and Rebekah went on ahead to give her some space, but Klaus stayed by Caroline's side.

_"Well love, have you made your choice?" _Klaus asked nervously. They had been texting all week and he thought she was letting him in a little bit, but she had hardly spared a glance at him since she arrived. Caroline stopped walking and looked to him.

_"Wouldn't you rather hear my answer with everyone else?"_

_"Well I'd like a little warning if you're going to go in there and push me away again."_

_"I wasn't going to. Has your answer stayed the same or changed?"_

_"It's the same as it was last week. I'm willing to do whatever I need to do."_

_"I told you that you can't decide to do this because you felt like you needed to."_

_"It's not just that. I want to."_

_"Are you sure?"_

_"Yes, I'm sure; now will you tell me what you decided?"_

_"I'll do it, but we're going to wait a while. When the covens leave tonight, we'll tell everybody. Stefan and Damon will probably be thrilled, but I dread Elena and Rebekah's reactions. I don't think they're going to take it very well. They've already had to absorb a lot of information in a short time frame."_

_"Well I had to learn about it in a short time frame. I think they'll be fine."_

_"You and Stefan poked around in my head while I was sleeping, so some of it was your fault. Like you also didn't listen to my instructions the night you first saw a shadow figure."_

_"I know what I did love. So, how about we tell Stefan and Damon first? Maybe they can help explain everything to Bekah an Elena."_

_"Sure. Do you have your phone?"_

_"Yes."_

_"Send a text to Damon and Stefan and tell them to come outside without being followed and meet us at the gazebo." _She instructed as they walked around the back of the house and took a seat on the bench to wait.


	14. Chapter 14

**Boarding House**

_"Is it safe to touch your hand? I won't get any visions or anything if I do, will I?"_

_"I'm not doing any magic and I'm not particularly moody right now, so it should be safe." _She answered and he placed his hand over hers on the bench between them. She looked down at their hands before looking in front of her again to wait on the guys. He knew he was making her skittish again and he smirked. He was about to say something else, but he saw the brothers approaching them.

_"Is everything okay?" _Stefan asked.

_"We just wanted to let you guys know what we decided without the covens hearing about it. When the covens leave, we'll tell Rebekah and Elena." _Caroline spoke up quickly.

_"We both agreed to do the bond, but we're going to wait and get to know each other first." _Klaus finished for her. Caroline looked up at Stefan and Damon to gauge their reactions. Stefan gave a small smile and a nod. Damon smirked and pulled her up off the bench into a hug. She froze and looked to Stefan for help, but he just started grinning. She raised her hands up to gently push him away from her.

_"Sorry Blondie, but you looked like you were nervous so I distracted you. Now, don't make me have to give any more hugs tonight. I dislike giving hugs just about as much as you dislike getting them."_

"How about you leave the distractions to me Damon?" Klaus teased knowing Damon would just laugh and Caroline would get flustered.

_"Klaus… that's my sister. Please keep your innuendos to yourself_." Stefan said grumpily.

_"Stefan, its harmless fun. You know I wouldn't do anything to her. And I remember you using quite a few lines with my sister as well."_

_"True. Now how are we going to explain this to the wives?"_

_"It is going to be so hard to remember that about you guys now. You aren't legally married yet, so I guess we got time to adjust to it; seeing as they can't take on the Salvatore name until you marry officially." _Caroline stated.

_"Well I suggest we go inside, eat, and rest while we wait." _Klaus offered. Everyone nodded and went to head inside. It took two hours for everyone to participate in the feast that had been prepared and leave. Caroline started getting nervous as the crowd thinned out. Nobody questioned her quietness, assuming she still didn't feel well. After the guest left, everyone made their way to TV room. Stefan decided to begin the announcement, knowing Caroline was a little nervous; she was starting to look pale again.

_"Okay Rebekah and Elena; I need your attention for a few minutes and then we'll have time to answer any questions you have. There was one more announcement to be made tonight, but it cannot leave this room. This is going to be kept quiet until sometime in Spring."_

_"What is it Stefan?" _Rebekah asked.

_"Well, it's kind of difficult to explain without you two freaking out. We found out something recently that Damon and I have been trying to find for years. We explained how our lives are and what we do. We left out Caroline's story. She's stronger than us, and she has her own destiny to carry out. It could be dangerous, but from what I've been observing, I think things will work out. There's going to be some difficult battles ahead that are almost impossible to do without certain things taking place. Even with Caroline being the strongest witch out there, she has a limit to what she can do without being bound to her mate. However, she wouldn't have as much trouble fighting if she was. Now, since we were bound to our mates tonight, we'll reach our full potential over the next month or two, which will make things easier in a lot of ways. Even with all of the extra power, she wouldn't survive this being unbound. Now, Bekah, don't freak out but your brother is her mate."_

_"WHAT?!" _Rebekah screeched and looked to Caroline. Caroline just leaned forward and smacked her head down on her knees.

_"I said 'don't freak out'. Now listen to me when I tell you this. Caroline figured it out first, but didn't say anything. That's why she was pushing you and Klaus away from her so much. I suspected she was keeping something from us, so Klaus and I took a little trip inside her mind while she was sleeping to look for answers. That's when we figured it out. They were left to make the same decision all of us made tonight, but they were strangers. They still don't know each other much, so your brother has been trying to talk to her. He has finally managed to get her talking to him, so don't start asking why you are just finding out about this. They needed to make a decision and they did. They've decided to do the binding, but they're going to wait until they know each other better. I think it's good that they aren't rushing into this, but at the same time, we are on a time limit. Damon and I already knew you two and we had to prepare for the first attack, so we had to rush the binding. I'd say it will be complete tonight, unless you two are aggravated by us when we go to bed. Their binding will be a lot different. They've completed the first part. The second and third part will have to wait until they're ready. Now, do either of you have any questions?"_

_"How is my brother her mate if she's been married already?" _Rebekah asked.

_"Because Tyler wasn't her mate. She never had any intention of seeking her mate out and tried to live a normal life. Tyler knew about her and he also knew that he wasn't her mate. She never hid this from him."_

_"Okay so how are they going to be bound together in the next few months if she's not over her late husband? That's not fair to my brother."_

_"Well Rebekah, your brother just had a relationship end recently, so I could ask the same question if I wanted to. I don't think he's holding on to Tatia, but he is most likely holding on to her betrayal. Like I said, they are going to be spending time together to get to know each other."_

_"Nik, how can you be sure that you don't start chasing every female you see once you get her?" _Rebekah asked, but Caroline cut him off from answering.

_"When you're bound with your mate, you can't sway from them. The only way to break the bond is for one or both people to die. The same goes for you and Stefan, as well as Damon and Elena. You literally can't betray each other that way."_

_"Rebekah? Caroline wouldn't have agreed to this without thinking about every little detail. This secret life is a bit confusing, but he looks like he knows what he's doing. I'm sure they've talked about this." _Elena spoke calmly so Rebekah would calm back down. She knew Rebekah was just worried about her brother, but they didn't need this to escalate.

_"Yes Rebekah, I've been explained, more than you have, about what this entails. I've made my decision and you should respect my choice like I respected yours. I knew about you and Stefan, but I didn't say anything to you; I left it entirely up to you."_

_"I'm going home. We said what we needed to say and I want to actually sleep in my own bed in my room tonight." _Caroline said as she stood to leave.

_"I wouldn't do that love." _Klaus rushed to block her from leaving the room.

_"Why not?"_

_"Because Elijah and Katherine are together now and you'd be surprised with what you might walk in on."_

_"Well I'm pretty sure this house will have the same sounds later and more of them since it's more than one couple. I've got other places I can go."_

_"You better not be referring to your tent; it's freezing outside."_

_"I wasn't."_

_"Or your car."_

_"I wasn't referring to that either, so let me leave."_

_"Another place you disappear to?"_

_"Something like that. I've had a busy couple of weeks and I actually want to sleep tonight, so move and let me by." _She said with a huff and glared at him. He leaned down to whisper in her ear so the others wouldn't hear him.

_"Just try to disappear tonight and I will follow you. We still have things to talk about and you've been gone for nearly a whole 2 weeks."_

_"Clearly you underestimate my ability to disappear."_

_"Klaus don't challenge her. You're only going to piss her off and then we'll have to intervene." _Stefan insisted as he stepped closer slowly. "_Why don't you girls move over to that wall just in case. I don't see either of them standing down."_

_"Just try me sweetheart." _Klaus said with a smirk and she narrowed her eyes and stepped back out of his reach. He noticed her eyes changing from blue to a mixture of red and purple before she completely vanished from everyone's sight.

_"Care don't do this! He was just teasing you and you know it." _Stefan mediated as he looked around trying to see a glimpse of her or her energy. Suddenly all of the men were floating in the air and pulled towards each other. When they were lined up, Caroline reappeared before them.

_"Stefan, Damon; you both should know by now to stay out of a challenge. Klaus, do you give up?"_

_"Not at all love."_

_"The hard way it is. Good luck finding me until I want to be found. My job doesn't count as being found either." _She said as she disappeared again and left the room. When she made it out the front door, she released the men from being suspended. She couldn't take her car, so she made her way to the road and ran until she reached the cave she had found years before and made her way inside. She created fire above her hand to lead her to her spot. When she got there, she covered up the entryway and lit the candles in the cavern. Then she found her old lantern and lit it before going over to folding cot, sleeping bags, and covers that she had recently brought there. The cave was one of a few places she had found to keep to herself. She got everything ready and set up some extra candles before blowing out the lantern and making herself visible again. Then she laid down and went to sleep.

Meanwhile, Stefan and Damon were reminding him that he had been warned to stand down, so her running off was on him. Stefan offered to open up the dream link so he could find her while she was sleeping, but after the last dream of hers he'd seen he declined. Klaus asked if there was a way to track her and they told him that only he would be able to find her because of the pull. If he could follow it, he may find her. Stefan also pulled out a map and a crystal on a string to try and locate her with that. He saw she was in the woods near the old factory, but it wasn't clear which meant she was either blocking or underground. He relayed what he learned to Klaus. When Klaus looked at the map, he noticed it wasn't far from his family's mansion. Klaus drove to the factory and plotted how far from there and which direction she was. He followed the map until he came to the base of a small mountain. He looked at the map again and shown his flashlight around until he spotted the entrance to a cave. It made sense for a cave to be her hiding spot because it would register as underground during Stefan's tracking spell. He entered the cave and focused on the pull. He traveled down the short, narrow tunnel until he saw a sliver of light coming from the bend of the tunnel. He went up to it and pushed it just enough to move it. He crawled inside and covered the entry back up before turning around and finding a sleeping Caroline. It was actually warm in her little hiding spot he noticed as he sat down next to the cot and debated how he wanted to let her find out she'd been found. As he thought of ideas, he watched her sleep and pushed her hair out of her face. He tried not to touch her skin in case he got pulled into her head again, but his thumb accidently grazed her cheek. When nothing happened, he kept stroking her cheek with his thumb and pressed a kiss on her forehead. She shifted in her sleep and it gave him the perfect idea.


	15. Chapter 15

**Morning (Klaus and Caroline POV)**

Caroline came into consciousness feeling very warm and squished. She wondered what was going on until she opened her eyes and saw a pair of arms wrapped around her waist. She lifted up on her elbow and looked around. She recognized the cave and she mentally noted she was fully clothed, but she couldn't see who was with her. As she tried to scoot away, the arms pulled her tighter to the owner of the arms. She was getting ready to attack when she heard him speak.

_"Morning sweetheart. I found you."_

_"Klaus? What are you doing here?"_

_"I told you that I would follow you."_

_"You have to see me to follow me."_

_"Not necessarily. I just had to follow the pull until I found you."_

_"Stefan told you how, didn't he?"_

_"Don't go for payback; it was my idea."_

_"Well can you let go of me now?"_

_"Why would I do that when you'll just try to disappear again?"_

_"What do you want Klaus?"_

_"To spend time with you."_

_"Do you have to be touching me to do that?" _She asked, but he just pulled his arm out from under her to prop his head on his hand and used his other hand to flip her on her back. She sucked in a breath and tried to move away from him.

_"Now sweetheart, I'm just making it easier for us to talk by seeing each other. And it will help you get used to being close to me."_

_"It's not really helping me feel comfortable."_

_"That's because you fight me on everything. Just relax; I'm not going to get any closer than I did at the falls, unless you ask me to."_

_"I won't. Now what can we talk about? How about coordinating our schedules so we know when each other has free time. I've already went a got a gym membership so we could go together. We can make a challenge out of it. Damon also told me the pond was well on its way to being frozen enough to skate on. Just give me the times and I'll meet you or I can pick you up. What do you think?"_

_"Do you know how much you sound like a stalker right now? Especially since I made it a point to be left alone last night and here you are."_

_"We're going to be bound in a few months. That tells me that we need to be spending as much time as possible together so we're comfortable with each other. So, my next subject is living arrangements. What are we supposed to do about that?"_

_"What are you talking about?"_

_"Mates have to be close to each other after they're bound together, right?"_

_"Yeah. What's your point?"_

_"My point love is that one of us would probably have to move in with the other after we're bound."_

_"Crap! I forgot about that. I like my house; I don't want to move, but I'd say you feel the same way about your house."_

_"What about a new house? We can keep our houses to rent out or for family, and build a new one so it's custom fitted for all our needs."_

_"Klaus I may have a pretty good amount of money, but not that much money. Have you lost your mind?"_

_"Will you stop questioning my sanity? All of my family has money, and we own the club. I think it's easily done if you want to."_

_"Wait a minute. I found a kink in your plan there; if you want to build a house, you have to wait for it to be built. Do you really think you could get someone to build a house that fast?"_

_"I have no doubt that I could. So what preferences do you have?"_

_"Are you high or something? First you mention living together and now you're asking for my input on a house you want to build. You need to think rationally about this."_

_"Building a house is a rational option. Many people consider it when they live together."_

_"So on top of everything going on, our jobs, and schedules, you want to add building and decorating plans?"_

_"We can do it."_

_"Uhh… you just don't give up do you? Do you find it amusing to push my buttons all the time?"_

_"Talk about innuendos. I COULD push your buttons all the time." _He said with a smirk and leaned right into her face.

_"Back up Klaus. You know I was referring to the fact that you constantly pick a fight so I will argue with you."_ She said through gritted teeth. He pulled away just a little bit and she released a breath she didn't know she was holding.

_"You're too tense. Roll over on your stomach."_

_"Why?"_

_"Just do it please. I'm going to rub your back and I can't do that if you're lying on it." _He replied with another smirk and she turned over. He moved to straddle her legs so he could rub her back better and she tensed up. When he reached for her shirt to push it up she tried to get away from him and screamed for him to stop. He got off her back and sat beside her. _"What was that about? I was just going to rub your back. I wouldn't force you to do anything."_

_"It's not that…" she interrupted. "I don't like people seeing my back or stomach."_

_"Why?"_

_"The crash."_

_"You have scars." _He acknowledged. It wasn't a question but she nodded her head anyway. _"Caroline everybody has scars…" _he started trying to make her feel better but she sat up on her knees and looked at him. Then she turned her back to him and sat cross legged in front of him. When he didn't move, she pulled her knees up towards her chest and lifted her shirt until it was at her bra level and leaned forward to rest on her knees.

_"When our car was found, the passerby pulled me out. He didn't see the glass that was still attached to the window until he heard my dress rip as he pulled. He saw what he did and repositioned himself to lift me the rest of the way out. My stomach got cut up during the roll. My back is still worse than my stomach so I keep it covered."_

_"I thought you guys could get rid of scars?"_

_"We can, but it's there as a reminder. I won't take them off, but I still don't like people seeing them."_

_"What's the reminder?"_

_"To not turn my back on my powers because when I do, I lose."_

_"I think you've tortured yourself over that long enough sweetheart, and you don't need reminding. All they do to you is cause you more pain in the long road. Take them off love."_

_"I know they're nasty to look at…"_

_"No, I'm not saying that. You need to heal from everything that happened, so take them off. Tyler has already been reborn, you're about to be bound to me, and I intend to see you happy again. You won't be happy if you hold on to all that pain. Take them off and let it go." _He finished and she started breathing heavy while debating it in her head. When she calmed back down she closed her eyes and ducked her head back down to her knees. Klaus thought she had refused until he saw the lines of her scars start to fade away one by one. His finger traced them as they faded and she had to fight revealing the shivers running through her back. When all of the scars disappeared, he took a hold of her shoulders and turned her back over so he could proceed with the back rub. He moved back on top of her legs as started rubbing and pushing in small medium sized circles before rolling his wrist along her spine so he wouldn't put too much pressure on her. When he made it halfway down her back he went to rub a circle, but she jumped. _"And what was that?"_

_"That tickled just a little bit."_

_"So you're ticklish on your sides. Where else are you ticklish?"_

_"I'm not telling you that. And don't tickle me; I might accidently hurt you trying to get away."_

_"Would you laugh?"_

_"Nope I wouldn't make a sound; I'd just squirm."_

_"You might not want to do that with me sitting here sweetheart."_

_"Then don't tickle me and I won't." She retorted. He leaned over her to whisper right in her ear, causing his chest to press on her back._

_"Is that another challenge love?"_

_"No, it's a request and I hope you listen to it."_

_"You're so skittish of me. I make you nervous. Can I ask you a personal question? You don't have to answer me, but I'm curious."_

_"Depends on the question."_

_"I know Tyler is the only guy you were ever with physically. But I was wondering…"_

_"Pause that question. If you want to talk about that subject, I really don't think I'll want to answer it."_

_"I was wondering when the first time you slept together was. Like I said, you don't have to answer it, but I was curious because of how you tense up any time I touch you."_

_"The first time was the night he asked me to marry him. We were married soon after, so we didn't feel the need to wait anymore."_

_"Were you his first too?"_

_"No. His first was the girl he was with before me."_

_"Did they do it often?"_

_"No. I think he said they only slept together twice before he caught her cheating on him."_

_"So you two were young, he hardly had any experience, and you had no experience. Well, that explains it then."_

_"What does it explain?"_

_"Tyler was nervous your first time together wasn't he?"_

_"A little bit, but I think he was afraid of hurting me."_

_"That wasn't all sweetheart. Not only did he not want to hurt you, but he didn't want to disappoint you. He knew you were worried, so he took it easy on you."_

_"It still hurt like hell. After that time, we usually only did it when we got caught up in the moment."_

_"You didn't like it?"_

_"Sometimes I did, sometimes I didn't, but I always happy with him."_

_"Is it bragging if I promise I'm going to change your outlook on sex?"_

_"Um yea it's bragging and it's also a bit too much information in the position we're in right now." _She replied with a shaky breath and he chuckled.

_"You know I'm just teasing you, right? You make it too easy to resist. Does your back feel better? You seem less tense than you were before; even with the subject we were discussing."_

_"My back feels fine. You're actually really good at massages."_

_"Oh you haven't seen a massage yet."_

_"How do you always find something dirty to say back?"_

_"I already told you; you make it too easy."_

_"I'm guessing you don't have much experience with 'massages'?"_

_"Somewhat. I know what you're talking about though."_

_"Well I would hope you would. I imagine you've figured out your own massages just fine."_

_"I don't … do that." _She admitted with a huff.

_"You have got to be joking with me."_

_"Nope, but what I do or don't do really doesn't matter so let's find another subject to talk about."_

_"Would you be open for an experiment first?"_

_"If it's anything to do with massages, then no I'm not."_

_"That's fine. I was just going to help you help yourself."_

_"I'm good. Change the subject now. How many women have you slept with?"_

_"Quite a few but trust me when I say I was careful and picky. Matter of fact, when I found out about Tatia cheating on me with Elijah I started wondering if we were the only ones and went to get tested. My results came back clean, so I'm not going to worry about it anymore."_

_"Well that was good news for you. Tyler got tested before we got together for the same reason. They tested me after the crash so they could be sure, since I was unconscious. I haven't been with anyone since Tyler, so I know I'm good. I would think the peace of mind would be worth skipping sex."_

_"About how many times did you and Tyler get lost in the moment?"_

_"I don't know; I didn't count. We were married for 2 years and we didn't start trying to have a baby until the last 6 months he was alive. So, I could probably count the times we did it before trying to conceive if I really focused on it. But, I know every time we did it when we were trying to conceive. I wrote them all down to help track the date for when I got pregnant."_

_"You both really wanted a baby didn't you?"_

_"Yea, we both loved the idea of having our own family. We thought we had finally got it that night."_

_"That's something I admire about you. You value family so much it extends to those who are not your actual relatives. It's something we agree on."_

_"We don't agree on much, do we?"_

_"I think we do, but we're both too stubborn to let go of a conversation until it turns into a challenge."_

_"I let go of the last one, so don't pull the stubborn card with me."_

_"That's the only challenge I've seen you back down from. I'm sure in time you'll actually want that challenge."_

_"I'm not even going to ask why you think that. What are your hobbies?"_

_"So we're back to safe subjects? Okay, well I like to draw and paint, read occasionally, I like working out, and a few other things that I can't remember right now."_

_"Do you know what time it is?"_

_"Wanting to leave already?"_

_"No, but I have to talk to Katherine sometime today."_

_"So you're saying you have a free day minus talking to Katherine?"_

_"Yes."_

_"How about I take you out? You've got to be hungry by now. We can stop by the boarding house and let you get your car. Then you can go home and talk to Katherine, take a shower, and get ready, while I go home and do the same. I'll swing back by and take you out."_

_"Where are you thinking of us going?"_

_"I thought about us going to Richmond. It's not that far of a drive, but it has better restaurants than we do here."_

_"Sounds good. I just got to figure out what to tell Katherine about you or she's going to give us the inquisition when you show up."_

_"I'll tell her I'm taking you out to lunch. She and Elijah are welcome to join us if they behave themselves. I hope they don't, but I won't forbid them from coming."_

_"That's mean. I've not seen her in 2 weeks and we're used to seeing each other every day."_

_"I wouldn't be thinking of that right now. You'll have to think about that when the house gets built and we move in together."_

_"I didn't even think about that. I have no idea for what to do then."_

_"Well we have a couple months to think of a reason. Have you thought about showing her what you are? I'm sure she wouldn't think differently of you and it might be easier than finding an excuse."_

_"It might be easier as far as friendships go, but it would be dangerous for us to know. Her and Elijah are better protected not knowing."_

_"Don't you think it will be more difficult to keep all of this hidden from them? Katherine is your roommate and Elijah is my brother; and Rebekah's."_

_"Stuff like this happens in my world more times than you would think. You'll get used to covering up this life because it's what has to be done. It's the only way to protect the ones we care about."_

_"Alright, but what if they find out?"_

_"I've already seen what their paths are. They don't find out anything that would reveal anything. All the documentation regarding my family line and the Salvatore's are locked up in a safe place. They won't ever know. But, I'll give you a hint and say that Elijah and Katherine are mates and they bind without knowing it."_

_"Wait… What?"_

_"Elijah and Katherine will be married in the future."_

_"What about my other brother, Kol?"_

_"I don't know. I would have to meet him to get a good reading on him. But until the danger passes, he should probably remain clueless as to what is happening."_

_"Well that's easy for Kol. He takes a different girl home every night and he's always drunk unless he's sleeping. He is the definition of clueless in the family."_

_"Well hopefully he'll figure out his purpose soon. We better get going if we're going to go get lunch, or it will turn into dinner."_

_"We're doing lunch in case Katherine and Elijah want to join us, but when we go to dinners we'll be alone. If we get to have lunch alone, we'll go out and do some things and then I'll take you to dinner. I'm sure you wouldn't mind getting back a little late, would you?"_

_"Not too late. I have to be at the bookstore at 8:00 a.m. so I hope you don't deprive me of sleep today."_

_"No need to deprive you of sleep. I'm pretty sure we'll have time for that later."_

_"Must be a record. You managed to not use double meanings for a nearly 20 minutes."_

_"I did my best. However sweetheart, you're right that we need to get going. We have a long day ahead of us and I've already thought of a couple things to surprise you." _He noted as he stood up and offered her his hand. She took it and he pulled her up from the cot. She put everything back where she kept things and blew out the candles. Klaus was about to turn on his flashlight when she made fire appear to lead them out. _"That has to be my favorite ability you have."_

_"What? The little fireballs?"_

_"Yes. They suit you. You become a little fireball yourself when you get riled up."_

_"Well I am a fire sign. Do you know what you are?"_

_"I think I remember my sister telling me I was an air sign when she went through her astrology phase. She read the horoscopes to all of us every day from the newspaper."_

_"Hmm well that explains some things."_

_"Like what?"_

_"Air can fuel fire or choke it out depending on the amount and how it's being used."_

_"I have to say that's interesting." _He replied as they stepped out of the cave. They both pulled out their phones and turned them on. Caroline's only had one message, but Klaus' kept dinging. Caroline had received a message from Katherine telling her that she would be staying at Elijah's house for the week and she repeated it to Klaus. _"Well I have a new plan. I still have clothes at the boarding house. I'll pick them up when I take you to get your car and I'll follow you to your house."_

_"I still need to talk to her. I guess I'll have to just call her instead. Care to help me out on a secret mission tonight?"_

_"And what would that be love?"_

_"I'm going to put a protection ward on your house so they'll be safe. I can't be seen doing it, so you might have to go inside and distract them for me. It won't take very long and you probably want to take your clothes home anyway. With your house protected, you'll be able to go home whenever you want again."_

_"Since Katherine is staying at my house with Elijah, how about I stay at your house? I'll sleep on the couch if you want."_

_"We have a guest bedroom you can sleep in. It has a dresser and closet so your clothes won't be all wrinkled from being in a gym bag. I just have to let Kat know what we're doing." _She sighed when they reached his car. He was surprised nothing had happened to it or that he had a ticket waiting on him. They rode in silence back to the boarding house and saw Stefan outside when they pulled in.

_"Well Klaus, I guess you found her. You could have sent me a message so we knew she was alright."_

_"Neither of us had cell reception and she didn't know I found her until this morning. When I found her she was sleeping."_

_"Well it's still rather early so I'm going back to bed since I know you both are fine."_

_"That's fine mate, I'm just going to pick up my clothes. Katherine and Elijah have decided to stay at my house, so I'm going to stay at Caroline's."_

_"Care? Do you two have something you want to tell me?"_

_"Good grief Stefan, nothing happened. AND, he's going to be in the guestroom at my house." _Caroline said with a huff.

_"Okay, but what about Kat and Elijah?"_

_"I've got a plan. Klaus will distract them and I'll ward the house. He has to get some stuff there anyway and I need to talk to Kat. I'll just show up after I'm done. We'll take both cars."_

_"So what else do you two have planned for today?"_

_"I don't know; he says it's a surprise."_

_"Klaus it better be good. She doesn't like surprises. I'm surprised she agreed to it."_

_"Oh it'll be good mate." _Klaus replied with a smirk.

_"I don't even want to know what you've got going on in that head of yours." _Stefan sighed.

_"It's nothing like that mate. Although I'm pretty sure I need to raid her closet to help her find a suitable outfit to wear for dinner."_

_"WHAT?! If I can't wear normal clothes, I don't want to go." _Caroline screeched.

_"Just trust me love. You'll enjoy it."_

_"No I won't. I don't dress up anymore and I want to be comfortable when I eat."_

_"Alright guys, you two can work this out later when your bantering won't wake up the house. We all decided to sleep in today, but I needed to know you guys were fine. Now that I know, I'm going back to bed. Have fun today." _Stefan interrupted before walking back into the house. Klaus asked her to wait while he grabbed his things and he would follow her home. When he came out, they both got in their cars and drove to her house.


	16. Chapter 16

**Caroline's House**

The drive to Caroline's house wasn't long from the boarding house, so they both pulled in the driveway fairly quick. She led him through the door and to the guestroom.

_"Okay well you can put your clean clothes up and take your dirty clothes to the laundry room. It's downstairs past the kitchen. When you get a load on, you can grab a shower. Me and Kat have the Jack-and-Jill bathroom and you will use the one next door to your room. I'm going to grab a shower; I'll meet you in the kitchen when I'm done."_

_"How about I grab my shower before I start laundry?"_

_"That's fine. I just didn't know if you had the clothes you wanted clean or not."_

_"I just washed them at the boarding house 2 days ago. I'll let you do what you have to do now. I'll see you in a few minutes."_

_"Alright." _She replied and dashed off to her room to gather her clothes. She decided to go with a plain blue long-sleeved shirt and a pair of skinny jeans to go with her winter boots since there was snow on the ground now. She put everything in the bathroom and made sure both doors were closed. When Klaus heard the shower start from her room, he gathered his own clothes and headed next door to other bathroom. He saw the towels in a shelf and grabbed one. He was glad he brought his own body wash and shampoo because he saw all they had in there was feminine soaps. He laid everything out and started his own shower.

After showering and getting ready, Klaus gathered his dirty clothes and headed downstairs to look for the laundry room. He knew Caroline was out of the shower when he heard the hairdryer running, but he decided to head on down to the kitchen. He opened up doors until he found the laundry room and looked around for the detergent. It didn't take long for him to figure out her washing machine, even though it was different than what he was used to seeing. Caroline finished drying her hair and pulled it up into a ponytail. She reached for her necklace that had her and Tyler's wedding rings on them and stopped. She mentally debated whether or not she should wear them, but found she probably shouldn't wear them. She opened up her jewelry box and placed them down in there for the first time in 3 years before standing and heading downstairs. She found Klaus trying to work her coffee pot and went to take over.

_"Here let me do it. Kat still has problems with using it."_

_"You aren't wearing your necklace."_

_"I figured I probably shouldn't."_

_"I never saw the charm on it."_

_"It didn't have one. It's what I had Tyler's ring and mine on." _She finished and looked at the counter.

_"You didn't have to do that for me."_

_"It wasn't just for you. He's being reborn which means doesn't even know who I am anymore. So I put them up."_

_"You also aren't wearing black. Blue looks good on you."_

_"I didn't know where we were going, but I figured black wouldn't be appropriate."_

_"Well that would depend on what the clothing. Which reminds me… come on. We're going upstairs to look in your closet."_

_"Please tell me we aren't going somewhere fancy."_

_"Well it isn't too 'fancy' but it is a nice place and you'll want to wear a dress."_

_"I don't have any dresses, so I guess you'll have to have another place in mind."_

_"Not a chance sweetheart. I guess we'll just have to stop and buy you a dress."_

_"Listen, I don't want a dress. I don't like going to fancy places and there's snow on the ground. I don't want to wear a dress. Can't we do something normal? I'll compromise and let you do this later when the weather is warmer."_

_"Okay, but we're still getting out of this town for a while. No dresses, but you might want to bundle up."_

_"Okay."_

_"And as a show of good faith for you compromising, let me take you shopping for future outings."_

_"You don't give up do you?"_

_"If we're going to do this, we might as well do it right. If this was a normal situation, we would be going out on dates while getting to know each other and I would be doing whatever I could to woo you."_

_"You don't have to do that though. This isn't a normal situation and normal protocols aren't really necessary."_

_"Still, I'd like to. I know it's going to be a lot of work for both of us to get through this, but we agreed to it. So, let's go all out. Stefan showed me what you were like before everything happened. I would like to see you like that again, and I know that it will take time and patience, but I think you could be that happy smiling and laughing woman again."_

_"Oh my god, he played the videos didn't he?"_

_"Yes, but I asked him to."_

_"Well they were shot to be blackmail, so I guess he finally got to use it. Those are really embarrassing videos too."_

_"No they weren't. They showed another side of you that I hadn't seen yet. Now that the coffee it done, how about we put them into to go cups, and get on the road?"_

_"Sure. Are we going straight to Richmond or are we stopping somewhere first?"_

_"Well I thought it was later in the day when we woke up, so I thought we could get breakfast on the way out of town. Then drive and go shopping before lunch, and then our date will start. We'll do dinner and a surprise. When we get back to town, we'll come by here and get your car so we can go by my house. I'll distract Elijah and Katherine, and then you can come in and talk to Katherine while I get some things I will need."_

_"I still don't know how we're going to work out our job schedules."_

_"Well I can do paperwork at the club during the day and let Elijah take over during open hours, so we're on the same schedule for work. We'll get it all straightened out. Now, let's go enjoy the day."_

_"Fine let's go." _Caroline saidas they grabbed their coats and walked out the door. Caroline only stopped long enough to grab supplies for later and lock the door. She put the supplies in her car and locked the door back before getting in Klaus' car. They stopped at the grill for breakfast, before beginning their trip.

**Boarding House (Stefan, Rebekah, Damon, and Elena POV)**

Everyone was sitting in the TV room watching a show as their breakfast settled. Rebekah was still wondering about her brother when Stefan noticed her frustration.

_"Rebekah he's fine. He knows what he's getting himself into."_

_"And how does he know?"_

_"Because he's known about us since the day she got out of the hospital and he's had a couple weeks to think about everything since he found out he was her mate. They'll be fine."_

_"He's still my brother. Am I not allowed to worry about him? I saw what she did last night to all 3 of you."_

_"That wasn't anything Rebekah. She only did that so she could go and she didn't hurt us. She wouldn't hurt any of us."_

_"But she is capable of it isn't she?" _

_"Everybody is capable of hurting each other, but she has great control of her abilities. She wouldn't hurt anybody on purpose. When you have time to get to know her and get used to this life, you'll understand why we're not worried about them. I was worried, but I'm not now."_

_"Why were you worried?"_

_"I thought your brother wasn't taking this seriously and was trying to use his womanizer ways on my sister, but he hasn't. He found her last night and stayed with her while she was sleeping. He's going to be staying at her house since Katherine and Elijah are staying at yours."_

_"Wait a minute… I know the girl is depressed and all of that, but you're telling me my brother isn't trying to get her into bed?"_

_"He's been teasing her with innuendos, but that's as far as he's went. He might invade her personal space some too, but nothing too much. He's not pushed her towards anything as far as I know. I even asked them about it because I can tell when Caroline tells me something that isn't true. She wasn't lying when she said nothing happened, so I know nothing happened."_

_"Nothing may have happened yet, but he's my brother; he'll be trying eventually."_

_"Well they're mates. If they do something, it's not like it would be a bad thing. I just don't think she would let him do anything until she was ready for it, and she won't be ready for a while."_

_"Once again… this is my brother we're talking about. I'm sure they've talked about it by now anyway."_

_"Bekah, Tyler is the only person she was ever with like that. Trust me when I say that she will take a while before letting your brother that close to her."_

_"You forget Stefan, Blondie and Tyler were engaged before she gave it up. I wouldn't be surprised if she made him wait until the handfasting." _Damon interrupted with a grin.

_"You men are pigs. Caroline waited because she felt like she wasn't good enough to be with anybody that long and didn't want to sleep around with a bunch of losers. You weren't within hearing distance to some of the guys she dated. Some of them talked really bad about her and to her. She may be the most powerful witch on the planet, but she was still a girl at the same time. Tyler was there when she needed him. He made her feel as good as we knew she was. After he died, she wasn't just crushed from losing him, she lost he only guy that ever made her feel like she was something special; and not in a magic way, but in a normal way." _Elena stated as she was getting aggravated by them talking about something that wasn't their business.

_"Elena, I'm just looking out for my brother."_

_"And we're just looking out for Caroline, but there's nothing we can do about this. They're mates. That means they are meant to be together. Do you really want to make a fuss and go against their destiny? How would you feel if someone was talking about you like that? Nobody stood in you and Stefan's way so why would you stand in their way?"_

_"I'm not standing in their way…"_

_"You're trying to."_

_"No, I'm just making sure that this is what my brother wants to do."_

_"Bekah honey, all of us tried keeping him away from her before we found out they were mates. She did her best to avoid him too. He never backed down from this, and he decided to do this before she did. If you keep this up, your brother will lash out at you. He's not being forced into this, so let him make his own choices."_

_"I don't want to lose my brother Stefan!"_

_"You won't be losing your brother unless you keep this up. Why not look at it like gaining a sister instead of losing a brother?"_

_"Because once they bind, they'll have to live together. I know my brother and he'll get a new place or move in with her when that time comes. He'll give me and Elijah the house and leave."_

_"Even if he moves out, they will still be here. She won't leave this town; it's all she has left. If they go anywhere, it would only be a vacation."_

_"I hope so, but I know my brother likes to travel so they'll probably be gone a lot."_

_"She can't leave for long periods. There's too much to do here with her duties. You'll see."_

_"Fine, I won't say anything. But, if my brother gets hurt…"_

_"The only way anything would hurt him would be if Caroline died. While she's alive, he'll be safe and alive as well."_

_"Tyler died."_

_"Tyler wasn't her mate. There's a bond between mates that keep them together. Caroline couldn't have saved Tyler from everything because they didn't have that bond. Plus your brother will develop abilities once they're bound. He won't be defenseless."_

_"I guess I'll just have to take your word on it because I don't know how this entire thing works. And why will mu brother develop abilities if we didn't from bonding with you guys?"_

_"Because she's different. Her role in this life is too big for him to remain completely normal and there has to be a balance. Our roles are side roles, so you two won't need powers. You two will be safe though everything."_

_"This is just so weird. So what abilities will my brother get?"_

_"No one will know until he gets them. She'll be able to read him and find out once they're bound."_

_"Okay." _Rebekah finished and they all went back to watching TV. Her nerves were a little better, but not gone completely.


	17. Chapter 17

**Katherine and Elijah POV**

Katherine and Elijah had been enjoying their time spent together over the past couple weeks and were lounging in his bedroom listening to music when Katherine decided to talk to Elijah about his brother and Caroline.

_"So, what do you think your brother is thinking about with Caroline?"_

_"I'm not for sure, but I think he likes her. He has definitely shown an interest in her. He sent me a message earlier that they were spending the day together and that they would be by later this evening."_

_"Why didn't she tell me anything?"_

_"I don't know. Perhaps your friend wanted to surprise you?"_

_"She doesn't date though. She hasn't been with anyone since her husband."_

_"Maybe this would be a good thing for both of them? They've both been through a lot and it gives them common ground to start with."_

_"Are you sure your brother isn't using her? She's not a game to play."_

_"My brother is aware of her past and I believe his intentions are true. I think he wants to get to know her. Maybe he will be able to make her happy again and she will make him happy."_

_"But Elijah, with everything that's happened, are you sure this is a good thing? What if this ends up doing them both more damage than they've already went through?"_

_"I don't believe it will. I think they will work out just fine with time. It was just unexpected for everyone. Once everyone gets used to the idea, things should go smoothly. Now, I just hope Kol settles down his actions."_

_"Maybe we could help him somehow. We could work with him to get him to stop drinking and fooling around, and then maybe he could meet someone he likes and settle down."_

_"I hope so. We never see him anymore and we all miss him. Any time one of us goes to visit him, he turns us away."_

_"We'll figure something out. For now, I just want to spend some time with you."_

_"That sounds good to me." _Elijah replied as they went back to snuggling.

**Klaus and Caroline POV**

Klaus and Caroline spent the first part of the day going through different department stores at the mall. Klaus kept picking out bright colored clothing and handing them to her, while she was sticking to darker colors. Eventually they came upon a compromise and had a mixture of the types before they headed to a store with just dresses. She felt that awkward feeling creeping into her again before he told her she didn't have to get a lot. She only nodded and followed as he browsed for something that would make her stand out, but still be in her comfort zone. The sales clerk came over to them and helped them pick out about 4 different dresses for her to try on. She went into the dressing room and changed into a red dress before staring at herself in the mirror. She started getting a little agitated with having to get clothes she didn't want, but she had agreed to it for a compromise.

_"Klaus? Do I really have to step out of here and let you see? I feel like a freaking Barbie doll."_

_"I'm sure you look beautiful. Now come out and let me see." _He requested and she made her way out to him. _"I told you that you would look beautiful."_

_"Thanks, but I don't think it's me."_

_"Try on the next one and see how you like it." _He said softly and went back to waiting while she dashed back into the changing room. The next dress was lavender and she felt better in it. She walked back out and he smiled. _"How do you like that one love? I think you look amazing in it."_

_"I like it better than the red one. I don't want the red or the white one. I can already say that."_

_"Well you're getting this one. Now try on the last one so we can see if you want it or not." _He spoke as he turned her around to see herself in the mirror again before she changed. He brushed his thumb along her shoulder blade before she pulled away and went to change into the blue dress. It was definitely the most formal of the dresses they picked out, but she had to admit it was a beautiful dress. She put it on and walked back out. _"Absolutely ravishing. Now look at yourself." _He instructed as he turned her around to the mirror. He took the hair she had in her ponytail and twisted it up so some of her curls would fall over the sides of her head so she could see what he meant. When he dropped her hair, she went to change back into her clothes. They took the lavender and blue dresses up to the desk to buy them. She excused herself to use the restroom and agreed to meet him at the Starbucks when they were finished. After he paid for the dresses, he grabbed her bags and left the store. When he was walking to the coffee shop, he saw the jewelry store. He smirked and strolled over. He purchased some earrings, a necklace, and a bracelet and put the bag down in her dress bag for her to find when she put her clothes up. He then made his way to the meeting place.

_"I got you a coffee. I didn't know where you disappeared to so I had to resist the urge to go to the car."_

_"Thank you sweetheart. I stopped off and got a surprise for you. If you're ready to go, we can start the first part of our actual date."_

_"Sure. Let's go." _She said and grabbed some of the bags. After storing everything in the trunk, they drove off to a museum. He pointed out different pieces of art while she gazed at them. They made their way into a different section before he worked up the nerve to ask her about his own drawings.

_"You remember when I said I liked to draw and paint?"_

"Yes."

_"Would you let me draw you sometime? You'd be perfect for it."_

_"Let me think about it. Can I see your drawings?"_

_"Of course. I'll be picking up my supplies tonight from my house, so you can look at them when I do. And I already let them know we would be by so they aren't indisposed."_

_"Then I'm highly surprised that Kat is blowing up my phone right now."_

_"Elijah has her distracted. I told him that you and I were making a day of it and that we could talk about it tonight if they wished, but to give us the day."_

_"Well that's something. I can hear the questioning coming."_

_"It'll pass eventually."_

_"Yea but until it does it's a good thing that we're doing this whole thing slowly. If I was completely comfortable around you, Kat would see right through it."_

_"So you're still tense around me?"_

_"Only when you invade my personal space." _She pointed out, but he just offered his arm to walk her around. They finished up at the museum and headed towards the restaurant. Caroline was thrilled that it wasn't very big or fancy. They found a table and placed their orders. The meal was spent using small talk to find out little details about each other. When dinner was done, they took a walk through the park. Klaus had her surprise in his pocket and was more than a little nervous about giving it to her.

_"Well I think it's time for your surprise. Now, you don't have to use it now, but I went ahead and got it for when we were bound." _He said as he took her hand and placed a band with a Celtic knot designed on it in her hand. When she opened her hand back up and looked at it, she froze. _"It's for later love. I just wanted you to go ahead and have it. I researched a little this week and saw this. I felt it fit the situation, so I went and bought them."_

_"You know this is a wedding ring, right?" _she asked while shaking a little.

_"I'm aware of it, but after we're bound we'll be considered married in one way. If we decide that we actually want to get married later, then we'll worry about that then. This is for being mates."_

_"It's a bit much, don't you think? We just agreed on this yesterday."_

_"I know and we're going to do this our own way. Oh and I picked this up at the museum when you weren't looking." _He said while holding out a small charm with the museum's initials on it. _ "It's a charm for a charm bracelet. I figure every time we go somewhere new, we'll pick up a charm for you to add."_

_"I don't have a bracelet for it to go on."_

_"I took care of that too. I picked this up at the dress shop." _He said handing her a silver bracelet. She tried to attach the charm, but got frustrated with it. He took it from her and snapped it on before taking her wrist and hooking the bracelet on it. He rubbed his thumb over her pulse point and she got shivers in her back again.

_"Thank you. It was a nice idea." _She said while taking her wrist back.

_"Well I was hoping for a smile; even a small one, but I guess I'm going to have work a bit harder."_

_"Why do you want to see me smile so badly?"_

_"Because I've seen pictures and videos of you smiling, but I've not seen the real thing. I want to see a real smile and I want to hear a real laugh; I want to see you happy instead of just tolerating me."_

_"I'm not just tolerating you. You're not bad company once someone gets used to you and you aren't being annoying on purpose."_

_"I'll take that as a compliment love."_

_"It was a compliment. I'm not the only one that is holding back parts of themselves. I don't need you to impress me with the dinners and shopping. I would rather actually get to know you and not your wallet."_

_"Okay so I was trying to impress you a little bit, but it's all part of the wooing process."_

_"That doesn't really woo me though. It makes me feel intimidated."_

_"Okay, so I will find something you like to try next time. It might help if you tell me what you're comfortable with doing on a date."_

_"Just something simple. I like the outdoors, going to the fair, hanging out watching TV and eating pizza, and other stuff like that."_

_"Thank you for telling me. I will do something special that you like next time. I suggest we make Sundays our date days, since it's the only day we both have off from work."_

_"I think I can agree to that. You know you don't have to try so hard; we already know we're mates and we're going to be bound. Everything should just fall into place soon enough."_

_"Maybe so, but I don't see the harm in helping move things along either. Come on; we have to get back soon or Elijah and Katherine will be blowing both of our phones up. We'll stop and get your car while I take the bags in, and then we'll go to my house."_

_"Sounds good. Let's go." _She replied with a nod and he held his arm out to her again. They walked back to the car discussing how long it would take her to do the ward on the house and that she would text him when she was done and when she got back to her car. When they were on their way back to town, they continued discussing things from dinner. They arrived back at her house and she warmed up her car while he took all of the bags in from his trunk. The cover story for them being in two different vehicles was that she wanted to put her stuff up and just meet him at his house after. Then they both took off towards his house. She pulled off on the side of his driveway far from the house and made her way towards the house. She went around the entire building making the marking with the correct oils and chanting the blessings in a quiet whisper. Once she was done, she texted Klaus and made her way back to her vehicle to drive it up to the house.


	18. Chapter 18

**Klaus, Caroline, Elijah, and Katherine POV (not always in the same room though)**

Klaus had been doing a great job at distracting his brother and Katherine. They were both questioning his behavior with Caroline and he was getting aggravated, but didn't say anything to them. He knew they were worried about what could happen between him and Caroline, but they couldn't know everything regarding them so he just tried reassuring them of his intentions. He was relieved when he got the text from Caroline saying the ward was complete and she was at her car. When they heard the knock at the door, Klaus went and let her in. Katherine immediately ran up to her and hugged her.

_"I've missed you Care! Don't take off like that again. Anything could have happened to you."_

_"I'm fine Kat. Besides, you got to spend time with Elijah. Elijah I hope the house suited you fine. I didn't realize that you all's house was this big; or should I say it's a mansion?"_

_"It's quite alright Miss Forbes. I had a wonderful time at your house with Katherine. Might I say you have a lovely home?"_

_"Thank you and please call me Caroline. There's no need to be formal. So, I've heard you two are officially together now? I hope everything works out for the best for both of you."_

_"Yea we're together Care, and I hear Klaus finally got you to go on a date. So, how was your date?"_

_"It was fun, except for the shopping. I had to compromise since I refused to go to a fancy restaurant. But, everything turned out good."_

_"He took you shopping?"_

_"Yes. That's why I'm just now getting here. I wanted to put my stuff up while he was getting his things together. Since you're staying here with Elijah, Klaus is going to stay in the guest bedroom so I'm not by myself."_

_"That's thoughtful. I'm surprised you're letting him."_

_"He's been a perfect gentleman, so until he acts up I see no point in not letting him stay at the house."_

_"Just as long as you're sure. Klaus, I just have to say this once; I know you've been through your share of problems, but if you hurt her I will cut off your penis and stuff it down your throat." _Katherine said with a glare.

_"Kat! A little harsh, don't you think?"_

_"It's just a warning. Hopefully I never have to make it a reality, but it's better to warn him now than to see you get hurt."_

_"I have no intentions on hurting Caroline. Katherine, believe me when I say my intentions with her are true. She caught my interests and after spending time with her, I can safely say that I like her. Now, if you'll excuse us, Caroline has asked me to show her some of my artwork and I told her I would." _He explained as he offered his arm to Caroline and led her to his art room. Katherine and Elijah remained where they were in shock.

_"I don't think he's lying."_

_"I know he's not. Niklaus never shows someone his artwork. Tatia never even saw them."_

_"Well that's good news as far as his intentions go, but don't you think it's a little weird that they are getting along this good? This time last month, Caroline was drinking every night and refusing even a girl's night because she misses Tyler so much. Now, she's spending time with Klaus, going on dates with him, and he's going to be staying at the house with her."_

_"Well, from what I've heard, she stopped drinking after getting out of the hospital, the anniversary of Tyler's death has passed, and Niklaus was spending time with her to help Stefan because of Rebekah's little outburst. Spending that amount of time facing their darkest burdens could have formed a bond between them."_

_"She wasn't wearing her necklace."_

_"What necklace are you referring to? My knowledge of Caroline is still lacking."_

_"She has a necklace with her and Tyler's wedding rings on it. She hasn't gone a day without wearing them since he died."_

_"Either she has finally let go of her life with Tyler, or she thought it was too awkward to wear them on a date. I'd say it's too soon to entirely let go of Tyler, but I don't think she took them off just for a date either. She may actually like my brother and want to be fair to him. He knows of her past and she knows of his recent events. Maybe they both decided they wanted something honest and different like we did."_

_"Maybe. I guess I'm just worried. We'll know soon how things are going to go. If he doesn't leave her and she doesn't push him away, they might have a real shot."_

_"Then let us hope they have a real shot. Niklaus and Caroline both deserve to enjoy their lives."_

Klaus was showing Caroline all of his paintings and she couldn't help but be in awe of them. Then he led her to a sitting couch and handed her a sketchbook that was filled with drawings. She took her time looking at each one before handing the book back to him.

_"You're an amazing artist. Everything was so detailed and life like. How long have you been drawing and painting?"_

_"Well I started off with drawing and then eventually started painting. Let's see, I've been drawing since I could pick up a pencil, but I didn't start painting until halfway through high school."_

_"You're still really good at it. I never could get far past stick figures, but I love looking at art. I like trying to figure out the story or message behind each piece."_

_"I can help you if you want to. And in exchange, you could teach me to ice skate without falling and making a fool of myself."_

_"Alright, it's a deal. Don't expect me to get as good as you with drawing though."_

_"Well I guess we'll be even because I have no balance on skates. Instead of skating at the pond, how about I take you to a rink sometime? There's one not too far from here and I could talk to the owner and rent it sometime when it's closed. I wouldn't fall in front of everybody and you'd have more space to skate than at the pond."_

_"I don't think you realize what I would do with a whole rink to just us. I'd probably make you sit after a while so I could let loose."_

_"Yes I've heard that you're crazy on skates. Damon called you a show off, Stefan said he couldn't fully describe it, and Elena said you should have went pro."_

_"I don't do it because I'm good at it or because I wanted a career of it. I do it to use some of my extra energy and it makes me feel peaceful. It gives me something to focus on that isn't life or death. The same goes for gymnastics; I do it to feel good. Although, sometimes I don't realize I've used up my time slot and the kids group comes in and I end up assisting the coach. They're getting really good; some are even ready to compete."_

_"So skating and gymnastics are your outlets, like drawing and painting are mine. I just had an idea; let me draw you skating when you're ready."_

_"You're not going to give up on that, are you?"_

_"Nope. Don't forget that you have to sleep sometime and I could just sneak into your room and draw you then."_

_"That would be beyond cruel, so don't. I'll let you draw me skating, but do not draw me while I'm sleeping and looking like crap."_

_"You don't look like crap when you're sleeping. When I found you last night, you looked lovely."_

_"Uhh you're doing it again. And just so you know, I woke up on the verge of sweating because you give off a LOT of body heat. AND you freaked me out by staying there. No one knew about the cave."_

_"I said I would follow you. I was going to wake you up and say 'tag' or 'found you' but you looked too peaceful sleeping, so I laid down with you so you could be surprised when you woke up. You were definitely surprised, so now it's your turn."_

_"Turn for what?"_

_"Either hiding or surprising me. And you can't use magic to surprise me."_

_"Well I'm not going to hide, because you'll just keep finding me until I have no more places to myself, so that leaves surprising you."_

_"I'll be looking forward to it love." _He said in a whisper by her ear. She jerked in surprise; she hadn't seen or heard him step up behind her. She ended up turning around to face him. He gave a little chuckle and she gave a glare. _"How about we head back to your place? It's getting late and we both have to get up early for work. I've already told Elijah we were switching shifts for a while; or at least until I can hire someone to do the paperwork."_

_"Better be quick about it; you're cutting into his and Kat's time together."_

_"We wouldn't have to worry about it if Kol would pull himself together or Rebekah knew the first thing about running a business, but we'll get it straightened out in the next week or two. Now let's get out of here and leave the lovebirds alone so they can get back to what they were doing."_

_"Wait a minute… they're already… never mind; let's go. I don't want to be around for that." _She said in a rush and tried to help him grab his stuff. He chuckled and only let her carry his art supplies. They didn't see Katherine or Elijah on their way out and Caroline just shook her head. Klaus noticed and chuckled at her. They put the stuff in his car before separating for their own vehicles. When they got home, they agreed that it would be faster if they each went and put their own stuff up. Klaus walked away grinning as he remembered she didn't know about the jewelry in her dress bag.

_"By the way sweetheart, you have another surprise in one of your bags. Don't get mad when you see it either because they go with a couple of your outfits."_

_"Klaus what did you buy? Klaus!"_

_"You'll see soon enough love. Give me five minutes and I'll come to your room to see if you've got to it yet."_

_"Are you sure you want to come by? You just told me not to get mad."_

_"Well when I got them, I didn't know how you would react and I thought you would like them. However, I think I know the initial reaction you're going to have. It's a gift, so please except them and enjoy."_

_"Fine but just know that now I have a bad feeling in my gut."_

_"I'll see you in a couple minutes." _He replied with a smirk as he went in his room and started rushing through putting everything up. When he got done, he remembered he still had clothes in the washing machine and ran downstairs to throw them in the dryer. When he got done he made his way upstairs to her room. He could hear her putting stuff up and she didn't seem to be mad, so she had either not seen the jewelry yet or she had decided not to be mad about it, so he knocked.

_"Come in Klaus."_

_"Have you found your surprise yet?" _he asked hesitantly as he came into her room and took a seat on the bed. She shook her head and then noticed where he was sitting. She thought about saying something, but she remembered it was the only place to sit besides at the vanity table. She went back to sorting through clothes and putting them in the correct places of her closet.

_"Okay the only things I have to put up now are the dresses. At least they have bags around them because I think I'm running out of room in here and I don't think I want dust or cobwebs to get on them. Let me guess; the surprise is in the dress bag?"_

_"Yes."_

_"Let me guess… more jewelry?"_

_"Yes."_

_"Where did you get it?"_

_"The jewelry store."_

_"Okay, so now I know you probably bought something expensive. Give me a minute so I don't freak out when I see it. I'm going to get the dresses put up."_

_"I didn't know you would be opposed to receiving jewelry until after I bought it, so you don't have to repeat everything you said earlier. I understand you aren't comfortable with the idea."_

_"I won't repeat the lecture and I'll try to keep the freaking out set on low."_

_"Thank you. Now, open up the bag."_ He requested as she finished with her dresses. She picked up the bag like it was a bomb before going and sitting beside him. She pulled out the first box and opened it up to reveal the bracelet. Her jaw dropped and she felt her breath rush out of her lungs. She closed the lid and laid the box in her lap before reaching into the bag and getting a smaller box. She knew it was either a ring or earrings so she barely lifted the lid to make sure it wasn't another ring, and saw earrings, so she opened the box the rest of the way. She had to admit he had good taste in jewelry, but she didn't want him spending so much on her. She closed the lid back down and reached for the final box. She opened the final box revealing a necklace with diamonds and amethyst stones. She gently closed the box and went to put all of her new pieces in her jewelry box. She sat in her vanity chair and held up a finger to let him know she was still keeping herself from saying something like she had earlier.

_"Okay I'm good now. They're really beautiful so thank you. Just try not to surprise me with things like that so much, okay?"_

_"Deal. So, what do you want to do now?"_

_"Now I want to change into my pajamas, get a late night snack, read and listen to music, but since you're here, it would be rude to read and ignore you. So, I'm going to get into my pajamas, make my snack, and then we'll figure out something to do."_

_"Sounds good. I'll leave you to change and meet you in the kitchen." _He replied and went to his room to find his pajama bottoms. Once he stripped himself, he put on the pants and went to the kitchen. She was already in there wearing pajama shorts and matching top. When she stood up, she nearly dropped her armful.

_"Where's your shirt?"_

_"Sorry love, I don't sleep in shirts."_

_"You were in one last night."_

_"That's because I had to find you and I didn't think you wanted to wake up to me being shirtless."_

_"Well thank you, but you aren't sleeping right now, so…" _She trailed off and looked down at the food. He smirked and walked to her to help her get everything to the kitchen island. She made them two sandwiches a piece and he made some hot chocolate. They carried everything to the coffee table so they could watch TV before going to bed. They both agreed on Dawn of the Dead and sat down to eat and watch. They were both finished eating by the end of the first scene and sat back with their hot chocolates. Klaus finished his off quickly and sat back to pull Caroline to his side and put his arm around her. She tensed briefly, but remembered that he was going to be doing stuff like that often to get her used to him. She forced herself to relax and finish her hot chocolate. When she was finished, she gathered their plates and cups and washed them quickly. When she walked back into the living room, Klaus was laying on his side under a blanket. When he noticed her, he lifted the blanket and motioned for her to join him. She took a breath before joining him. He covered them up and wrapped his arm around her waist to hold her in place. She could feel his thumb rubbing right beside her bellybutton and his breath hitting her ear. She didn't know if he was doing that on purpose or not, so she kept quiet and tried to focus on the movie. Eventually she maneuvered around until she wouldn't feel him breathing on her.

_"Sweetheart, you might not want to do that."_

_"Do what?"_

_"Squirm like that. It has an effect."_

_"Sorry, I was just trying to get comfortable again."_

_"I know; that's why I spoke up when I did."_

_"Thanks for the warning. Now I want to inform you in return. Don't breathe on my ear please. It was becoming difficult to focus on the movie."_

_"So are you admitting I have an effect on you?"_

_"Somewhat but my mind doesn't linger on that subject all of the time like some people."_

_"You know you just peaked my curiosity again."_

_"And how did I do that?" _She asked as she turned over to face him.

_"Because now I want to know how else I can affect you. I'm wondering how many places you have that would be affected by breathing on or touching."_

_"How about you wait a while to figure those out?"_

_"I planned on it; I'm just telling you I'm curious."_

_"Uhh you're hopeless." _She said as gave a small smile followed by a short giggle. Klaus gave a big smile when he saw her; it may not have been a big smile or a full laugh, but it was the most she had given yet."

_"Not completely. You apparently thought it was funny and I got a giggle out of you." _He announced with a smirk. She furrowed her eyebrows at him and he made a face back as he leaned his head towards her in challenge. She started to straighten her face back out and roll back over, but he wrapped his arm around her waist again and raised his eyebrows at her. He started making different faces at her to see if she would laugh again, but she covered up her mouth and giggled.

_"What are you doing?"_

_"Trying to be funny and get you to laugh. I got another giggle out of you, so I will take it as a win for now."_ He answered as he moved his hand up to push her hair out of her face and rub her cheek. _"I did this last night when I found you, but you rolled over_." He whispered and she dropped her eyes and put her hand on his wrist. He thought she was going to pull his hand away, but she didn't. She closed her eyes and let him continue rubbing her cheek. He ended up moving his head to rest his forehead against hers. She opened her eyes to see him looking at her. He stopped rubbing her cheek and moved his thumb to her bottom lip. His eyes followed the path his thumb took across her lip. Caroline wasn't sure how far he was going to go, but she was surprised by how calm she was about his ministrations. She removed her hand from his wrist and moved it to his face to trace his jawline and dimples. He gave her a small smile and rubbed his nose on hers, and by doing so they could feel each other's breaths pick up. Caroline knew that the pull was making them both want something more than what they had been doing, but she knew that once they started down that road, everything would happen too fast. He looked in her eyes for any sign from her to stop, but didn't see much hesitation. He leaned his mouth directly over her without taking his eyes off hers. She closed her eyes and pulled his head the rest of the way; shocking them both. As their lips met, they both felt a current pulling at them. They moved in rhythm with each other, slowly deepening the kiss, until he pulled her under him and braced one of his arms next to her face so he could still cup her cheek. He slowly moved his other hand from her shoulder down to her hip. When his hand squeezed her hip, she thrashed her lower body, causing him to ground against her. She released a small moan and he pulled back from her mouth. "_As much as I'd love to keep going, we better stop before I can't. I want you to have no doubt in your mind about me and I want to see you smile for real before too."_

_"Thank you."_

_"I didn't see this happening tonight."_

_"I guess I surprised us both."_

_"Most definitely, but I enjoyed it."_

_"I guess that also means it's your turn since you were surprised."_

_"I guess it does love. I'll be thinking of it all week. We should probably go to bed before we end up getting carried away again. We have work in the morning anyway. Come on, I'll walk you to your room." _He said as he got off of her to stand and stop the movie. Once the TV was off, he took her hand and had her follow him up the stairs. When they reached her door, he opened it for her. She stayed in the doorway for a moment and he kissed her cheek. _"Goodnight love; I'll see you in the morning."_

_"Goodnight Klaus." _ She replied and watched him walk down the hallway to his room. When he opened the door, he looked back to her and nodded his head with a smile. She nodded her head back and closed her door. When the door was firmly closed, she released a breath and touched her lips. She closed her eyes and focused on keeping her breath even and she dropped her hand and walked to her bed. She couldn't believe that they had been making out on her couch; and it surprised her more that HE was the one to stop them. She lit her lavender incense to calm her nerves down enough to sleep.

Klaus had gone straight to lying in his bed staring at the shadows of the trees on the ceiling. He knew her mind was probably running as fast as his was right then, and he had to force himself to stay where he was and not go to her. He caught the slightest whiff of a new scent and looked to the door. He crept over slowly and quietly opened his door. She smell got stronger as he tip toed towards Caroline's room. He noticed the smell as lavender and figured she was burning a candle or something and went back to his room. When he got back in bed he tried to clear his head so he could get at least a little bit of sleep, but it took over an hour before he finally drifted off.

The next morning Klaus woke up to the smell of breakfast being cooked. He got up and made his way to the kitchen. He saw Caroline standing at the stove with her earplugs in her ears. He looked at the table and saw eggs, bacon, sausage, biscuits, and gravy. When he looked back at Caroline he noticed that she was taking a pancake out of the pan before pouring the batter for one last one in. He noticed she had made about a dozen pancakes and shook his head. He was thinking that she either had a big appetite or she was going overboard for another reason. He was brought out of his musings when he heard her start humming along with the melody. He looked at her and noticed she was beginning to sing quietly while bobbing her head. Then she picked up a pen and started doodling a set of pictures that he couldn't see. She stopped only to flip the pancake before she was finished cooking. She placed the skillet in the sink to soak with the other dishes. She went back to doodling for a minute before tapping the pencil and shaking her head. Then she opened up the dishwasher and started loading it up with the dishes from the sink. When she got it loaded up, she wiped off the stove and cleaned the sink. Klaus saw she was about to pick up the pancakes and turn around and ducked back out of sight until he heard the plate get set down, before going back to where he was. She was making coffee when he saw her again. She took a sip before looking at the doodle again. She looked like she was mimicking something in her head before rushing back to the pencil and drawing again. When she was done, she picked the book up and scanned the images again before closing it up and turning around. She let out a squeak when she saw Klaus standing there watching her.

_"How long have you been standing there?" _She asked as she pulled out her earplugs and stopped her mp3 player. She twirled the earplugs around the player before placing them on her book.

_"Just for a little bit love. Are you feeding an army?"_

_"Huh?"_

_"There's a lot of food."_

_"Oh yea I guess I made a bit too much, but I didn't know what you ate, and then I thought about taking Kat some at work too. I already texted her and asked her what to bring. I'll dig hers out and get it ready to go and then we can eat. Oh and I took your clothes out of the dryer and put them on your dresser. I had to wash my clothes this morning and I didn't know when you would be up, but I wanted everything done before we left so I wouldn't have to worry about anything this evening except dinner."_

_"What time did you get up?"_

_"About 4:00. I don't usually sleep too long and I figured you would be opposed to me taking a morning run and not waking you up first, so I found another way to stay busy."_

_"Why didn't you just wake me up? I could have run with you."_

_"I was about to, but when I took your clothes to your room I saw you sleeping and I couldn't wake you up. You looked so comfortable and I didn't want to bother you." _She explained as she got Katherine's breakfast put in containers and put in a lunch pack. She put the pack with her book and sat down at the table with her coffee. _"I left you a cup next to the coffee pot in case you wanted one. There are other things to drink in the fridge if you don't want coffee."_

_"Coffee sounds good and everything looks great; I don't know what to start with."_

_"Just dig in and whatever is left we can put up for a snack later." _She said as her phone dinged. She saw a text from Katherine asking her if she could bring Elijah some breakfast when she brought hers. She told her she would and asked what he wanted as she got up and grabbed more containers and another lunch pack.

_"What are you doing?"_

_"Elijah is bringing Kat to work and she asked if I could bring him some too. You can come with me on your way and give it to him if you want. He probably wants to talk to you anyway."_

_"Yea I don't have to go in until about 9:00 so that'll give me a little time to see you at work before I have to go. I'll help drag my brother out of there so you two can work in peace and have your girl talk; I'm sure you two have tons to catch up on."_

_"I don't really want to hear Kat talking about her sexcapades with your brother. That's just too weird for me." _She said with a giggle as she finished putting Elijah's food in the pack and putting it with Kat's.

_"I can see your face during that conversation. Hey, do you mind if I ask what you were drawing?"_

_"I was trying to draw the moves for a floor routine in time while I had the song playing. I choreograph my own routines."_

_"Can I see them?"_

_"I won't show you the drawings, but I'll probably have the routine down by the end of the week if you want to see that. You just have to be quiet or I'll get distracted and mess up."_

_"When are you going to practice it?"_

_"After work every other day I got to the gym. I start with the equipment to wait on my time slot to open up and then I go into gymnastics area for an hour, and then I swim for another hour."_

_"Am I allowed to go there to watch you practice? I have a membership now and I could always pick up my swimming trunks."_

_"Fine but no distractions or you won't be back when I'm there."_

_"Deal." _He said as he finished his plate and went to wash it before placing it in the drainer and sitting back down. _"So what else do you have to do before we leave?"_

_"Clean my plate, shower, change, get my gym bag ready, and take my clean clothes upstairs."_

_"Well I can wash your plate and take you clothes up while you shower and then I can grab my shower while you get ready and pack your gym bag."_

_"You don't have to do that."_

_"I know I don't; I want to. You didn't have to make this huge breakfast, but you did, so let me do something to help you."_

_"Fine. Just put the clothes in the basket and put the basket on my bed. I'll put everything up when I get home tonight."_

_"Good now hand me your plate and go grab your shower." _He said as she took her last bite and he stood. She handed him her plate before finishing up her coffee and putting her cup next to the coffee pot. Then she headed to the stairs to take her shower. She went to her closet to find something to wear and decided to wear something he had bought her the day before. She gathered everything and went to her bathroom.

Klaus washed her plate and put it in the drainer next to his before looking for the saran wrap to cover the food. It took him a few minutes to find it, but after he did he covered up the remaining food and put it in the fridge. He made a mental note to ask Caroline what time her lunch was so he could bring it to her before he headed to the laundry room. He put everything in the basket and went upstairs. He still heard the shower running, so he went to his room to get his clothes and take his own shower. He washed up quickly so he could spend more time with her before work. He dried off and threw his clothes on before jogging down the hallway and knocking on her door.

_"Come in." _He heard and opened the door. He couldn't see her until she poked her head out of the bathroom door. _"I'll just be a couple more minutes. I have to get my clothes on and dry my hair. Just make yourself comfortable."_

_"Okay love, take your time." _He replied. She nodded and shut the door. A couple minutes later, he heard the hairdryer turn on. He had to wait a couple more minutes after the hairdryer shut off before she opened the door and came out with the hairdryer in her hand. She threw it on her bag on the dresser before sitting at the vanity. She put the sides of her hair up and put on a tiny bit of make-up before standing again. She went to the dresser and tucked her hairdryer into her bag before rummaging through her drawers to find her gym clothes and bathing suit. After she had everything packed, she checked the time and noticed they still had about 15 minutes before they had to leave and went to her laundry basket. She put it on the dresser and moved her bag to the bed. _"I thought you were going to put those up when you got home tonight?"_

_"I was, but we still have time before we have to leave, so I'll put up what I can before then."_

_"Need help?"_

_"Sure. When I hand you shirts and pants, make sure they're all right side out and then put them on the hanger like you see from the closet."_

_"Okay. Do you want me to put them up too or let you do that?"_

_"Let me do that. I have a certain place for everything to go in there."_

_"That's fine. There isn't really that much to put up."_

_"Did you put my other clothes in the dryer?"_

_"No I didn't even think to check for any. I can go do that if you want me to."_

_"No, I'll do that before we go. I'm almost done here and then I'll hang up what you've got on a hook."_

_"Sure." _He said as she put the last remaining clothes in her dresser and went to hang up what he had put on hangers already. It didn't take them 5 minutes to finish everything and he grabbed her bag to take it downstairs. She followed behind him and took off to the laundry room. After she put the clothes in the dryer, she grabbed her book, mp3 player, and Kat and Elijah's lunch packs from the kitchen and meeting Klaus in the living room. They still had a few minutes, but she decided to go ahead and get everything loaded up. Klaus insisted that he drive her to work since they were meeting afterwards. After everything was loaded, they headed off towards town square where the bookstore was located. Caroline sent Katherine a text to let her know she was on her way and that she had the key if she beat her there.


	19. Chapter 19

**Bookstore**

Klaus and Caroline arrived at the bookstore first and took everything in while waiting on Katherine and Elijah. They didn't arrive until 5 minutes before opening time. Katherine surprised Caroline with a thermos full of coffee from Klaus and Elijah's house. Caroline went over to the store coffee pot and grabbed the cups, sugar, and creamer for everybody. They all sat down at one of the tables while Kat and Elijah were eating and discussed the plans for the day. Elijah was surprised when Klaus mentioned finding someone to run the office for them so they could spend more time with the women. Katherine almost got choked on her coffee when she heard him.

_"Sorry. What was that?" _Katherine asked.

_"I said that since Elijah and I have both started dating women who work days and we both want to spend time with them, we should hire someone to run the office during the day. Neither of us really has to run the office when we have enough income to pay someone to do it. Besides, it would give us more time to come up with romantic date ideas for you two." _Klaus repeated trying to appeal to both women. Elijah spoke up with his own questions.

_"Are you suggesting that we not work in our own club?"_

_"We would still have to go there a couple times a week and make sure everything is running smoothly, but we would have more time off. Besides, with the economy the way it has been, I'd say we could find someone who really needs the work and you know we pay our employees well."_

_"Yes Niklaus, I'm aware of our employees' wages, but are you sure you don't want to find an alternative method? What about Rebekah?"_

_"She's preparing for her wedding to Stefan and you know she doesn't have a clue to how to do the paperwork. And don't even suggest Kol. You know he isn't in the right place at the moment."_

_"Yes, Katherine and I were discussing him last night. We wish to find a way to help him that won't cause further conflict."_

_"How do you propose we do that?"_

_"How about letting me talk to him?" _Caroline chimed in looking at everyone. _"I do have the best story to give him with just getting out of the hospital and having to quit drinking." _She explained and gave Klaus a look. She picked up her phone and sent a text to Klaus saying maybe magic and he nodded.

_"Care, their brother is in pretty rough shape. He could lash out at Klaus and you would get caught in the middle." _ Katherine said trying to talk her out of it.

_"Never underestimate my stubbornness or my ability to get people out of stuff like that. I think we could eventually make him better. We'll go see him tomorrow and let you know how it goes." _Caroline retorted and Klaus smiled. He was wondering if there was a spell she could use to help him. He figured he would have to wait until later to ask her. Elijah and Katherine exchanged looks of disbelief, but didn't push the subject further. The conversation got cut short when the bell above the door chimed to inform them of a customer coming. Caroline and Klaus made their way over to the door so Caroline could offer them help. Once she pointed the person in the right direction, she turned back to Klaus.

_"Well I guess that's my cue to leave. What time do you take lunch?"_

_"I take it at 11:00 because Katherine takes hers at noon."_

_"I'll be back to take you to lunch. I'll see you later sweetheart." _He informed her and kissed her on the cheek. She returned the kiss on the cheek and told him she would see him then. She gave him a small smile when he looked back after opening the door and made her way to the counter to ring the customer up. She looked and saw Katherine and Elijah saying goodbye to each other as she finished with the customer. When she looked back up, she saw Katherine giving her a look and knew she was getting ready to have a long talk.

_"Okay you; spill it. What did you two do last night when you left the mansion?"_

_"We went back to the house, watched TV, and went to bed. And before you ask, we slept in 2 different rooms and we didn't have sex."_

_"I find that hard to believe. You know Klaus never goes slow with women."_

_"We kissed last night and he was the one who stopped things from going further. He knows I'm not anywhere near ready for that."_

_"You've got to be kidding me. Are we talking about the same Klaus?"_

_"Yes and I'm not kidding with you. I was the one who almost moved things forward; I got so caught up in that kiss that I almost lost control."_

_"Must have been some kiss."_

_"Oh you have no idea. I could barely sleep last night because I was thinking about it. Now it's your turn. How are you and Elijah doing?"_

_"Oh my god, you would not believe how that man goes from a gentleman to an animal when we're alone. Best sex I've ever had by far!"_

_"Okay Kat; I didn't mean for you to tell me about that. I don't need to hear about you and Klaus' brother going at it."_

_"What do you want to know then?"_

_"Things like if you two are happy with each other, how your dates go, and stuff like that."_

_"I can describe everything in one word; perfect. I keep looking for a drawback or something wrong, but there isn't anything. I've been so happy when I've spent time with him that I feel like it's a dream sometimes."_

_"That's really good Kat. I'm happy for you both."_

_"You actually look happy, and don't think I didn't see you smile at Klaus when he was leaving. That wasn't one of your fake smiles you give the customers; that was real. Small, but real. He must be doing something right."_

_"I know it was. He actually got me to giggle a couple times too."_

_"No way!"_

_"Yes." _She replied with a smile and giggle as she remembered the funny faces he made the night before.

_"Oh my god! I never thought I'd hear you do that again. As long as he treats you good and you are happy again, I will fully support you guys. But, I meant what I said last night; if he hurts you I'll hurt him."_

_"Thanks Kat. I'm not completely comfortable dating again, but he's been patient with me. And he was so persistent with getting me to go on a date with him that I thought I was going to snap and slap him at one point. Not only did he take me shopping, but he paid for all of it. AND, when I went to the bathroom he stopped at the freaking jewelry store and got me a bracelet, a necklace, and a pair of earrings. After that he got me a charm bracelet and a charm from the museum. He said that every time we go somewhere new, we're getting a new charm for it."_

_"Wow. He really went all out didn't he?"_

_"Well the shopping trip was to get out of having to dress up and go to an expensive restaurant. I didn't think he was going to surprise me with diamond jewelry."_

_"Wait a minute… diamonds?"_

_"Yep. I scolded him for it too."_

_"How did that go?"_

_"I pretty much told him I couldn't be bought and him buying things like that made me uncomfortable. He said he would keep that in mind and limit what he got for me."_

_"Damn girl! I think he really likes you. I thought it was a game to him, but I guess it's not. Are you doing okay with everything? I know you'll always miss Tyler, but I'm glad you're finally opening back up."_

_"Yea I'll always miss Tyler, but the love I had for him can't bring him back, so I have to move forward. I'm sure Tyler would want me to move on and be happy, but it's still difficult adjusting to this. Klaus knows I'll always love and miss Tyler, but he knows that it's not a bad thing. I don't want him feeling like he's competing with a ghost, so we're taking things in steps. When we're sure of each other, then we'll move forward. Until then, we're getting to know each other and spending time together."_

_"So when you two kissed last night, who started it?"_

_"I guess I did. We were on the couch watching TV and he said something. I turned around to face him and continue to conversation and he started rubbing my cheek and then my lip. He only brought his face so close; I guess he was letting me make the choice. I pulled him the rest of the way."_

_"How long did it last?"_

_"Well we ended up with me lying under him in a full make-out session, but when he grabbed my hip I jerked and it made us rub together. I guess he knew we were about to lose control and he pulled back. I'd say we were kissing for a while though; I didn't time it, so I don't know for sure."_

_"Oh I give it a week before you two are going at it like bunnies."_

_"I think it will take longer than a week Kat. He wants me to be happy and see me give him a big smile and laugh before he'll even consider it. That means I have to be completely over the past AND be ready for the next step emotionally."_

_"How long do you think that will take?"_

_"I have no clue, but I know it'll be longer than a week Kat."_

_"A month?"_

_"Stop guessing because I don't know. I'm taking this day by day and so is he."_

_"I can see you two one day being married with kids and all that other grown up stuff." _Katherine said with a laugh. Caroline gave her the "you're kidding me" look and rolled her eyes.

_"What about you and Elijah? I can see you two doing the same thing."_

_"If everything stays as good between us as it is right now, then I would be thrilled."_

_"I think you will."_

_"Well I hope you and Klaus work out that way too. You're already happier and you can see it. You're even wearing something that isn't black. I was wondering when you would get out of those clothes."_

_"Baby steps Kat. One thing at a time and one day at a time."_

_"Whatever you say Care." _She replied as they heard another customer coming into the shop. They spent the rest of the morning bantering over little things. It was a rather slow morning and they were able to get a lot of girl talk out of the way by 10:00. When both the girls were bored, they pulled their phones out to text the guys. Katherine suddenly got the idea to give Caroline a make-over and told Elijah she would talk to him later. Caroline gave her a curious look when she saw her jumped up and run to her purse and come back to sit next to her. When she found out that Katherine wanted to put make-up on her she tried to resist her, but eventually lost. She sent Klaus a text to let him know what was happening while hoping Kat wouldn't make her look like a floozy. Katherine decided to use grey and blue to give Caroline the smoky-eyed look and dabbed pink lip gloss on her. Then she used dark mascara and black eyeliner on her. When Caroline finally got to see herself in the mirror, her jaw dropped. She didn't look like a slut, but she still looked good. Then Katherine ran to the back bathroom and pulled her curling iron that she kept there out and went to enhance Caroline's curls. When she was done, Caroline was looking more like her old self than she had in a long time. She gave Kat a hug and went back to organizing a new shipment of books and putting then where they needed to go. She knew Klaus would be back to get her for lunch soon and was getting nervous. She didn't know what he would think or say about how she looked.

**Lunch**

Caroline didn't see when Klaus entered the store and he didn't know what to expect when he got there. Katherine noticed him enter and pointed in Caroline's direction. He noticed her standing there, but her hair was curlier. The only way he knew it was her from behind was her clothes and how she moved. When she turned around, she jumped at seeing him. His jaw dropped when he saw how Kat had done her make-up and she blushed. When he finally managed to close his mouth he swallowed audibly.

_"You look ravishing love."_

_"Thank you. I tried to get out of it, but she wouldn't let me. I'm guessing you like it?"_

_"I'm at a loss for words." _He said with a nervous laugh. She gave him a small smile before looking at Katherine who was giving her the "I told you so" face. _"Shall we?"_

_"Yes, let me just grab my purse."_

_"Don't worry about it; lunch is on me." _He spoke quickly and smiled again. She chuckled and looked at Katherine who was holding her purse hostage and giving her the "try me" face.

_"I guess I can't argue with both of you on this. Let's go." _She said as she walked up to Klaus. He held out his hand instead of his arm and she took it. He interlocked their fingers and led her out the door. They walked down to the grill and ordered a pizza. They were both surprised that they had the same favorite toppings; meat lovers. They grabbed a booth while they waited on their food. She was expecting him to sit opposite of her, but he slid in next to her and wrapped his arm around her shoulders as they sat back.

_"So how is your day coming along so far?"_

_"Great. I've spent all day setting up interviews and setting up this week's payroll. I should be able to have someone hired in the next day or two. How about you?"_

_"It's been a slow day; hence Katherine attacked me with make-up."_

_"You really do look amazing. You're beautiful without it, but I thought I was going to start drooling when I saw you turn around."_

_"I feel so weird wearing it now. I used to wear it all of the time, but now it doesn't feel like me."_

_"Like I said, you're beautiful without it. You don't have to wear it if you don't want to."_

_"Good because I probably won't unless you talk me into going somewhere that I have to wear a dress."_

_"Eventually I will. So how has the girl talk went so far?"_

_"Oh don't get me started. I had to stop her from talking about what your brother was like in the bed. Then I had to convince her that we haven't slept together. She didn't want to believe me, so I told her about some of our couch session. I didn't go into details, but she still had a hard time believing it. I eventually got her to believe me, although she's already placed her bet on when we will. If I didn't care about her so much I would have pushed her head into the counter."_

_"When does she think?"_

_"She bet on a week."_

_"I think it will be longer than a week, unless we lose control."_

_"After last night, I believe you on that last part."_

_"Tempting, isn't it?"_

_"Yes, but I think it's still too soon."_

_"That true. We both have things to do before we go that far."_

_"I don't remember telling you that you had to do something."_

_"You didn't; I wanted to be someone you wanted instead of leaving it completely up to fate. And you need to be happy enough with us to be comfortable. Besides, I still want that big smile AND a laugh." _He said and grinned. Directly after he finished talking, the pizza came out. Caroline waited on the waiter to leave before telling him her thoughts.

_"You're right. Last night, I wasn't sure whether it was you or the bond that made me pull you to me. I think it was a bit of both. I know I'm more comfortable with you than I was, and I know you've been great at everything since this started. I know you're not the only one who wants it to be real instead of being because we're mates. The bond only makes you want to be close to each other and act on behalf of fate. It doesn't tamper with feelings before the ritual joins the two people together, except for things like a protective or possessive urge. It can influence physical reactions because of the pull, but any feelings behind them would be genuine. So me smiling and giggling yesterday and today is real; you did that, not the bond."_

_"I like that. It makes me feel better about all of this. So if we grow to love each other, it would be real?"_

_"Yes."_

_"Well I look forward to getting to that point. I do like you for you. You're smart, energetic, beautiful, the perfect amount of mischievous, and you are very protective of those you care about."_

_"Well I like you too. Although when I first met you, I didn't. When I figured out you was my mate I actually started mentally having a fit. I thought you were too cocky and that you might have been a snob, but I know you're not a snob. You are a bit cocky though." _She said with a small laugh. _"However, you've been nice, charming, nothing but helpful when I needed it; you're smart and handsome too." _She said as she turned her head to look at him with a smile. He gave her a smile back before leaning down to her face.

_"I'm glad you think so." _He relied before cupping her face and fiving her a small kiss and releasing her face. They went back to eating so they could finish before she had to go back. By the time they were finished, she didn't have long to get back. They had to jog the last bit of the way, but they were both laughing when they made it inside. Katherine and Elijah both turned at hearing them enter. Caroline remembered that they needed to be quiet and coughed to stop herself from laughing. Elijah and Katherine walked up to them to tell them they would be back in an hour and Katherine whispered in Caroline's ear before giving her a wink and ran off following Elijah. Caroline automatically blushed and made her way to the counter. _"And what could have Katherine said to have made you turn so red?"_

_"She told me that I could close the shop and make her bet come true before she came back because her and Elijah already just did that."_

_"Well that's interesting." He replied with a smirk._

_"Don't even think about it. I am not having sex with you here in the bookstore."_

_"I wouldn't want our first time to be here either, but we could still close the shop and do other things."_

_"I can't believe I'm actually going to ask this. What other things?"_

_"Hoe about we lock the door and flip the sign and you'll find out?" _He offered as he leaned in to whisper the last part in her ear. She felt herself heat up as she tried to speak, but ended up just running and locking the door herself. She made sure the sign displayed closed before making her way back to him. He was smirking when she got back there and he picked her up over his shoulder.

_"Is there a back room or office somewhere?"_

_"Yea, you have to go all the way over past the table and it's at the end of the bookshelves. The office is the first door and the storage area is the second door." _ She directed him. He chose to go to the office and was glad when he saw a futon in there. He sat her down and she switched the futon covers just in case Kat and Elijah had used the futon. When she was done Klaus wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her back to his chest.

_"Now what should we do back here love?"_

_"What things did you have in mind?"_

_"Oh there's a million thoughts running through my head right now, but I want to know how much you're comfortable with. Just stop me if it's too much for you." _He said as he once again finished in a whisper by her ear. She felt the shivers run up her spine and he turned her around. He rested one hand on her hip and the other he laid against her neck. She moved her hands up his chest and rested them on each side of his neck and then looked at him. He leaned in and teased her lips with his before giving in and giving her a passionate kiss. She returned it with as much force as he gave and he slid his hand from her neck to rest on her other hip. When he squeezed them both at the same time, she stumbled back a bit and backed into the wall without them breaking the kiss. He bent down to grab her thighs and picked her up. He pushed her back to the wall and she wrapped her legs around his waist. He lifted the bottom of her shirt with one hand and started rubbing her side before he moved his hand up further a squeezing her breast through her bra. He felt her tug his hair as she moaned from what he was doing to her. He withdrew his hand from under her shirt and looked at her before he pulled her shirt off of her. He went back to kissing her as he moved his hand under her bra. When she gasped, he moved his lips to her neck and alternated between kissing, licking, and sucking. She pulled at his shirt to release it from where she had her legs clenched. He sat her back down on her feet and she pulled it over his head. He didn't hesitate pulling her back to him and crushing his lips to hers. Her back hit the wall again as he grabbed a handful of her curls and his other hand went under her bra on the other side.

When they started getting short on breath, Klaus pulled back and looked at her. He wasn't so sure it was a good idea to do this anymore. His erection was hard as a rock and he didn't know how they were going to stop if they kept going. He asked her if she was still okay and she nodded before pulling him back to her. When he pulled back again, she looked down and saw how tight his jeans had become before grabbing his hand and pulling him with her to the futon. He pushed the back down to make it flat before picking her up and laying her down on it. She had one hand clutching his neck and the other was rubbing down his side. When she reached his jeans, she broke the kiss and looked at him. She pushed his body up enough to reach her hand between them to try and release his belt. He sat up and stopped her hand before reaching for her jeans and pulling them off with her shoes. She sat up and undid his belt and jeans before pushing them down. When they lay back down, they were only in their underclothes. Klaus moved his arm under her and unclasped her bra. She pulled her arms out and he tossed it down to the floor. She started rocking her hips to find some friction, but he grabbed her hip to hold her still.

_"Don't do that. I'm already losing control." _He pleaded. She looked up above her to the side table and reached to open the drawer. She saw Katherine's little paper bag that she kept in the office for emergencies and pulled it out.

_"In case we both lose control." _She whispered and looked at him. He looked at her battling with himself. They had just talked about this during their lunch and didn't want to take things too far yet.

_"We can't. We agreed just a little while ago that we weren't ready for this. There are other ways to get relief, but even that might make me lose control."_

_"Klaus, do you want to do this?"_

_"More than anything at the moment, but I don't want you to regret it later." _He replied as he looked at her. She looked at him for a minute before making her decision. She rose up on one elbow and wrapped her other arm around his neck to pull his ear down to her.

_"Right now, I want this. I won't regret it later. I knew this could happen when I locked the door." _She whispered in his ear and felt him harden even more. She ran her nose along his neck and then back up to his jawline before moving directly in front of his face. He had his eyes closed, so he decided to make the first move. She closed her eyes and kissed him lightly on the lips. When he responded, she pulled him back down with her and they deepened the kiss. His free hand trailed down her body until he reached her thigh. He then broke their kiss to trail kisses and licks down her neck to her chest and then further on to her stomach. When he reached the top of her panties he used his hand cup her center. He could feel how wet she was already and started pulling her panties off. He went back to his position between her legs and ran his fingers along her folds before pushing a finger in and latching on to her clit at the same time. Her hands clenched the futon cover and she let out a small cry. When he inserted a second finger in her and increased his speed with his tongue, she nearly jerked off the futon, but he held her down. Her breathing and moans increased when she felt herself about to come undone. When she came, she clenched her eyes shut and screamed out. She didn't open her eyes back until she felt him climb back up her body. When they were face to face again, she pulled him into another kiss and reached for a condom. She managed to rip the foil before he took it from her. He raised up to put it on before settling back between her legs and she raised her legs up and locked them behind his back.

_"Are you absolutely sure about this?" _He asked almost painfully. She nodded and kissed him as he guided himself into her. She gasped as she felt him stretching her. He stopped and pulled back before giving her one quick thrust as deep as he could go. She threw her head back and released a scream while arching her back. He wrapped one of his arms under her hips and the other he used to hold himself up while still holding on to her on the shoulder. When she brought her head back down he kissed her again and pulled back to give another deep, hard thrust. His kiss covered up her moan as he repeated his actions. She used one of her hands to hold on to his back while reaching above her to push against the bar with her other hand. He began picking up his speed until he felt her come again. Then he pulled back to lift her legs to his shoulders and gripped her hips tighter. He gave her a hard thrust that hit deeper than the others and found her g-spot. The only thing she could do what brace her arms against the bar above her head and push her hips in rhythm his thrust. She couldn't believe it when she felt herself tightening for a third orgasm. He reached his hand between them and rubbed her clit with his thumb and she cried out as she started shaking in her thighs. When she came for the final time she gritted her teeth and screamed. Klaus thrust two more times before he came too. He dropped her legs to each of his sides and leaned over her to kiss her again while he waited to come down from their high. He knew he had to pull out of her soon, so he raised his lower half enough to pull out. They both let out a small hiss when he pulled out and he lay down next to her. She managed to pull her arms back down to her and rested them on her stomach. Both of them were still breathing heavy and covered in sweat when they heard Caroline's phone ding. She just shook her head and decided to ignore it for a minute. Klaus chuckled and crossed over her to get her phone and saw the tissue box. He picked up both items before resuming his place next to her. He handed her the phone and went to discard of the condom and wipe himself off. When he turned back around, he saw her smiling brightly before catching his eyes. She flipped her phone over so he could see.

**I didn't think you would go through with it, but I guess by seeing the CLOSED sign that means I win the bet. Go ahead and take the rest of the day off. I'm going with Elijah back to his house. Don't forget to lock up the store before you leave.**

He started laughing at the text and shaking his head when he realized that Caroline had been laughing with him and was still smiling. He leaned down and kissed her hard before pulling her up to straddle his waist. She didn't back down and he felt himself starting to get hard again, so he pulled away.

_"We better stop or I'm going to take you again and again and again. We need to leave the store sometime."_

_"Want to head back to the house then?"_

_"I thought we were going to the gym today?"_

_"I'm sure we'll still get our exercise in." _She replied with a grin and chuckled.

_"Most definitely." _He said before he kissed her again and turned them around so he could get off of her and get their clothes. He handed her clothes to her before getting dressed himself. When they were fully clothed, Klaus looked around for a trash bin to throw the condom away and Caroline handed it to him. After he threw it away, she pulled the bag out and put a new one in. She tied up the old bag and pulled in behind her. They went to the back door and she had him keep it open while she threw the bag in the dumpster. Then they went back inside and she checked the mirror to wipe off the smudged areas of her make-up and to pull her hair up the rest of the way. When they gathered their things, they made their way outside. She turned to lock the door and heard someone clear their throat.


	20. Chapter 20

**Confrontations**

Caroline had a pretty good idea who was behind her since Katherine was aware of what she and Klaus had been up to. So, she slowly turned around with a neutral face.

_"Hey Stefan. What are you doing here?"_

_"Don't play cute Care. I got a call from Katherine and Rebekah got the same call from Elijah. Want to tell me what this is all about?"_

_"I shouldn't have to explain myself Stefan."_

_"I expected this from you Klaus, but not you Caroline."_

_"You have no room to talk Stefan. You and Rebekah were sleeping together for months before you were bound."_

_"I'm not the high priestess Caroline."_

_"Back off mate."_

_"Shut up a minute Klaus. She knows what is expected of her in her position. Caroline, how could you chance something like this right now?"_

_"Well Stefan, I was happy for the first time in years and it felt right to me, but thanks for pointing out that you would rather I still feel miserable." _She answered crying before she took off running. When she made it to the alley, she looked around to make sure no one could see her and closed her eyes. Stefan and Klaus rounded the corner in time to see her disappear.

_"What is wrong with you Stefan? She has smiled and laughed today and she was right when she said it felt right. We were both happy. And after everything we've both been through, I thought you would have wanted us to stay that way. I guess I was wrong." _Klaus argued as he turned to walk away. He was going to get his car and then search for her. Stefan followed behind him refusing to stop the conversation.

_"What's wrong with me is that she's our high priestess. She should have waited until it was time. Unless you both agree to do the ceremony soon, things could get ugly fast. This could lead to conflict between the covens because they don't even know about you yet. What happens if you get her pregnant before the ceremony?"_

_"How fast can you prepare the ceremony then?"_

_"Why?"_

_"Because I'm going to go find her, calm her down, pick up the rings I got for this, and then convince her to do the ceremony."_

_"I can call Caroline's second in command 'so to speak' and she can be here in the next 30 minutes. Text me when you find her." _Stefan said as he turned to walk away.

_"Hold up a second mate. The next time you get her upset and crying, I won't care that you think she's your sister or the fact that you're my sister's mate; I will make you wish you hadn't." _He threatened with a glare. Klaus sat down in his vehicle and pulled out his phone. He watched as Stefan drove away before he tried calling Caroline. He heard a phone ringing from the direction of the alley and followed the ringing. He followed it to the spot where he saw Caroline disappear and looked around. There wasn't anything on the ground so he thought that Caroline was still in the alley in front of him.

_"I know you're there Caroline. Make yourself visible for me please." _ He pleaded and watched as the air shimmered and she reappeared.

_"Did you mean what you said to Stefan?" _She asked staring at the ground in front of her.

_"Which part?"_

_"All of it."_

_"Yes. If you're not ready I won't force you to do the ceremony, but I don't know how long we can avoid Stefan."_

_"Did you offer because you wanted to or are you willing to do this so we don't create a problem?"_

_"I've wanted to for a while, but I think we do need to go ahead and do it so nothing happens."_

_"Text Stefan and tell him we're on our way, but I don't want him to talk to me."_

_"If he even tries I'm going to punch him."_

_"Let's get out of here. You said you were going to pick up the rings. Where are they at?"_

_"On your vanity."_

_"Okay, we have to change anyway, so let's go." _She said as she stood up. Klaus stood up and followed her out of the alley and to his car. After they sat down in the car, Klaus sent the text to Stefan telling him to call the woman and have her come while they stopped and picked up the rings. When they got to the house, Caroline went to her room and dug out her priestess robe and dress, along with a surprise for him that she had been working on. She turned around and handed him the box and told him that he needed to wear what was inside before she picked up the box with the bands in it. She went to the bathroom and stripped down so she could change and wash her face. She pulled the tie out of her hair and went to working on French braiding it down her back. When she was done, she tied the bottom up and walked out of the bathroom. She saw Klaus standing there in his outfit and robe looking down with a confused face. She giggled a little bit and he looked up.

_"What am I wearing and why do I have to wear it?"_

_"It's for the ceremony. You wouldn't have had to wear it if you were someone else's mate. It marks you as the mate of a high priestess. I had to make them for you for the ceremony, but you only have to wear them for a little while. We can pack extra clothes too. Do you have a necklace?"_

_"Yes. Why?"_

_"Because I don't know how to explain us wearing the bands to anyone who doesn't know about magic. We can still wear them when it's just us or we're at a ritual, but around normal people we should wear them on a necklace."_

_"I forgot about that. You're right. Do we need o grab the necklaces now or wait until later?"_

_"We won't be seeing anyone until tomorrow, so we don't need to grab them right now. Grab the leftovers and something to drink from the fridge and call the grill to place an order. We're not coming here afterwards. I have a small cabin by the lake that we'll be heading to. There's a cooler under the sink that you can put the food and drinks into. I have to pack us some clothes." _She instructed as she grabbed her suitcase. She threw a pair of pajamas, a couple bras and pairs of panties, and a couple of shirts and pants into the suitcase before running to Klaus' room and grabbing his pajama bottoms, boxers, and a couple outfits and taking them back to her room. She put everything in the suitcase and closed it up before pulling the handle up so she could roll it. She picked up the ring box again and put it in the front compartment. Then she wheeled the suitcase out of her room where she met Klaus at the top of the stairs. He took the suitcase form her and carried it downstairs. She insisted that he put everything in the backseat before they headed off towards the ritual place.

**Handfasting**

Klaus and Caroline pulled up at the boarding house and saw Stefan standing there with the woman that would be binding them together. Klaus got out of the car to tell Stefan to go back inside before coming back to open Caroline's door. Before she got out, she reached into the backseat and grabbed the ring box out of the suitcase. Klaus offered his hand and she took it while getting pulled up and out of the car. They walked over to the woman and Caroline handed her the rings. She nodded and motioned for them to follow. They could see everybody inside watching them out the window, but they turned and walked away. Klaus made sure he hit the lock button for his car so they wouldn't be doing any snooping while he and Caroline were busy.

They followed the priestess to the circle area and waited for her to invite them in. Klaus had to go first and then Caroline. The priestess had them stand behind the altar until the elements were called and then motioned them in front of the altar. Klaus was surprised that Caroline's eyes were still blue. He noticed that her eyes had always changed to purple when doing magic, so he guessed she was supposed to refrain from using magic when it was her the ceremony was for. Caroline looked at Klaus and gave him a small smile before turning towards the priestess. The woman started chanting and Klaus had to repeat the words first. After he finished the woman chanted something for Caroline and she repeated the words. The woman placed the rings on her wand and held them over the altar where incense was rising. Klaus could see the rings start to glow and looked to Caroline. He noticed the air around them had changed colors and was shining brightly. The woman handed them each other's ring before motioning for them to put them on each other. When the rings were in place, Klaus and Caroline interlocked their fingers and gazed at each other. The priestess finished the incantation and they kissed. They both felt their bodies reacting to each other and the need to finish the binding rose. He priestess released the elements and stepped out of the circle, followed by Klaus, and lastly Caroline. The woman finished chanting and started walking back towards the boarding house. Klaus and Caroline were still standing there trying to resist the need they felt.

_"How long does it take to get to the cabin?"_

_"We'll make it. I'll drive. Let's just hurry." _She quickly said as she grabbed his arm and they traveled back to the car. Klaus hit the unlock button when they were close to the car and handed her the keys before running around to the passenger side. They both jumped in the car and buckled up. She didn't even have her door closed before she turned the ignition over. She pulled away and got on the main road as fast as she could. They were both breathing heavy as they passed through town. When they started getting glimpses of water out the side window Klaus breathed in a breath of relief. Caroline pushed the accelerator down a little farther as felt herself warming up. When she saw the cabin, she reached her hand down and clicked her seatbelt loose. Klaus noticed and copied her actions. When she finally parked they threw their doors open. Klaus opened up the back to grab the cooler and suitcase as Caroline ran to the door to unlock it. When Klaus followed her inside he placed the items in the floor and closed the door with his foot before launching himself in Caroline's direction. She barely had time to register that Klaus had made it inside the cabin before she felt him spin her around and crash his lips to hers. He lifted her robe and dress before he picked her up and carried her to the bed. She helped him take off his robe, top, and bottoms before she lifted her robe and dress off of her revealing to Klaus that she hadn't worn anything underneath. He let out a growl before pulling her to him and kissing her again. She moved to straddle him without breaking their kiss and lifted herself enough to line up her entrance with his erection. She slowly lowered herself down on him before lifting back up to repeat the motion. They held each other tightly as he took over and pounded into her from below. When he felt her come, he moved further into the bed and placed her on her hands and knees before thrusting back him. The force of his thrust pushed her down to her elbows and felt herself tightening again. She threw her disheveled hair back with a cry as she came a second time. She felt like she was running out of energy when Klaus rolled her over on her back and crawled on top of her. He kissed her long and hard as he pushed back into her. When he started picking up speed, Caroline broke the kiss to pull his head down to her neck while she tucked her head into his neck. He braced his arms next to her head as she wrapped her legs around his waist. He pounded into her with so much force he was worried that he hurt her, but he couldn't hold back. When he felt her tighten and heard her crying out from another orgasm his cock jerked and he released himself inside of her. He slowed his thrusts down to help them ride out their orgasms before he stopped moving. He stayed inside of her as they tried to catch their breaths. He leaned forward and kissed her before managing to pull out and lay beside her. She rolled over to lay her head on his chest and he wrapped his arm around her back.

_"Are you alright love?"_

_"Yea."_

_"Did I hurt you?"_

_"No."_

_"I couldn't hold back. I tried but I just couldn't. I don't know why."_

_"That's how the binding is completed. You can't hold back during the consummation. Don't worry about me; I'm 100% fine."_

_"I was worried you heart would act up with all of this."_

_"My heart should be fine now. There's balance now, so my health problems should clear up. You'll be able to do stuff now too."_

_"Will I be able to make little fireballs too?" _he asked and she started laughing. She looked up at him when she finished laughing and kissed him.

_"Out of all the powers that you could develop, you want to make fireballs?"_

_"Well yes, that has to be my favorite so far."_

_"Give me a minute to read you to see which abilities have been unlocked. You may develop more later, but I can see what's already forming." _She said as she closed her eyes and placed her hand over his heart. She was still reading when she started speaking again. _"Well you'll have an affinity for air, protection, healing, making amulets that work really good, and a small amount of light that can help do what I do to the dark figures that you've seen" _She finished and opened her eyes. When they locked eyes, he reached his hand up to place it on her cheek. She moved her hand from his chest to mimic his hand before rolling over on top of him to lean down and kiss him.

They felt their bodies heating back up and Klaus rolled until they were both on their sides with her legs wrapped around him. He felt himself harden and she moaned when he brushed her clit with his tip. He reached down to rub his erection up and down her slit before he entered her. She let out a gasp and he stilled. He was determined to be gentle with her this time. He didn't want her to be hurting later. He started moving in a slow and steady pace, but she pulled him on top of her and urged him to move faster. He only picked up his pace a little, but he made sure to fill her all the way up with each thrust. The movement was making his upper groin area rub against her clit and she came. She pushed him until he rolled over on his back so she could take control. She started off slow, but gradually picked up her pace until he had to hold himself back from releasing too early. When he felt her tightening around him again he lifted his hips to give her a little extra to use and she cried out coming. He released as soon as she came and sat up to wrap his arms around her. When they had ridden out their orgasms, she climbed off of him and lay back down. When he saw her stretch out, he decided he would go get a bath ready for them.

_"Where's the bathroom?" _He asked and she pointed to the door on their right. He got up and made his way across the room. When he entered, he turned on the water and adjusted the temperature. He decided to go back into the room and grab some clothes for them while the tub was filling up. When he had everything placed on the counter in the bathroom, he turned the water off and went back through the cabin. By then Caroline had wrapped the top sheet around her and walked to the cooler. She grabbed a juice out and started drinking it. When she saw Klaus coming, she offered him a drink. After they both finished the juice off, Klaus lifted the cooler and placed it on the kitchen counter and opened the fridge. He opened the cooler and started pulling out the containers and drinks and handing them to Caroline. When they had everything put up, Klaus took Caroline's hand and led her to the bathroom. "_I figured we both would like to sit and relax in the tub." _He stated with a smile. She nodded and dropped the sheet while waiting for him to step in first. When he got settled, she stepped him and sat between his legs.

_"Do you want to eat when we get out of here or get some rest? I would think you'd be worn out by now."_

_"Oh sweetheart, I don't wear out that easily."_

_"You might want to take it easy today. We're not allowed to use condoms again until tomorrow at the time we were joined. So that means we have to pace ourselves until about 2:00 p.m. just to be safe. The downside to that is that until then our drive will be heightened."_

_"I would think we would be able to at least control ourselves somewhat, but I don't know. I don't see how I'm going to get enough of you."_

_"I don't know. I'm still wrapping my head around how good you are at everything. I've had 9 orgasms during 3 rounds. How did you do that?"_

_"I told you that you would like it once we got to it."_

_"I really don't see sex getting better than today. I feel like I went running for a full day already."_

_"The day isn't over yet love." _He leaned forward and whispered in her ear. She turned her head and kissed him. She twisted her body partly around to have a better angle when she felt her stomach tighten in anticipation again. Below her she felt him harden again. He reached his hand around her waist and reached to rub her clit. She broke the kiss to rest her head on him and he straightened her back forward and pulled her against his chest. He lifted her by her hips and slowly lowered her onto him. He braced his feet against the end of the tub and moved one of his hands to her breast while the other went back to her clit. As he increased his pace, water started sloshing out onto the floor. Caroline managed to reach her foot to the drain plug and push it off. As she approached climax, she pushed herself forward to sit up and take him deeper. Her head fell back and her hands gripped the edges of the tub when she came with a cry. She turned around and brought him back into her before setting a fast, hard pace. He held on to her hips to push her down every time he thrust up. Her grip tightened on the edges until nearly her whole hand turned white. He bent his head forward to suck and nibble at her nipples as she clamped around him like a vice with her orgasm. He couldn't hold back anymore with how tight she was around him. He released with a growl and pulled her flush against him while rocking his hips to ride them both through the aftershocks. _"How about we try the shower instead? We may actually have better luck washing up." _He said with a chuckle.

_"That sounds good to me. Give me a minute to get the feeling back in my legs so I can stand and I'll get up."_

_"I got you love." _He said as he tightened one of his arms around her and lifted her enough to pull out of her and get out from under her. He grabbed a towel and put it on the floor to soak up the water they had spilled. Then he stepped out and bent to pick her up bridal style and carried her to the shower. He set her down leaning her against the shower wall so he could turn the water on. When he had the perfect temperature, he went back to help Caroline walk to the spray. He ducked his head under before stepping backwards and pulling her under the water. He turned her around to wet all of her hair before reaching for the shampoo. He guided her away from the spray so he could lather her hair up. As he massaged her scalp she hummed in appreciation. Then he pulled her back under the spray and rinsed her hair out. He then decided to wash the rest of her before rinsing her off again. Then he quickly washed himself and turned the water off. He grabbed both of them a towel and handed one to her. She wiped the towel everywhere on her before wrapping it around her and tucking it in. He saw her hair dripping and reached for another towel to give to her. Since she had the second towel, she began soaking up the water from her hair while Klaus dried himself off and wrapped his towel around his waist. She was still drying her hair when he grabbed his pajamas and pulled them on. He grabbed Caroline's and placed them next to her. She leaned on him while getting hers on, and then Klaus spread the towels out on the counter and racks so they could dry. Caroline used the wall for support as she made her way to the door. Klaus finished mopping up the water on the floor with the towel before rushing after her. He told her told sit on the bed while he heated up the leftovers and their grill orders. He found a tray after getting everything heated up and placed both of their plates on it with two sodas. He was smiling when he walked the tray over to the bed and placed it in the middle.

_"You don't have to do all of this. I'll be back to normal in a few minutes."_

_"I've enjoyed it. We've had quite the workout over the last few hours so you deserved to be pampered for a little while. You can go back to being stubborn tomorrow, but today you're all mine." _He said with a smirk.

_"You've used more energy than I have and I'm the witch. I should be the one running around and you the one that can barely walk."_

_"Don't worry sweetheart, you've worn me out too. I didn't do all the work and you have to remember that you woke up hours before I did."_

_"I did get up early, but I do that all of the time, and I'm always doing something to keep me busy. I shouldn't feel this tired. I might have to actually call into work tomorrow."_

_"If you call into work, I'm calling Elijah and having him conduct the interviews lined up tomorrow."_

_"We might also want to hold off a day on talking to Kol too. It's going to take all day tomorrow to build my energy back up; especially if we keep going tonight."_

_"Well now that we have some food in us, I suggest we try to rest for a little while before we end up tangled up in these sheets over and over again." _He spoke as he leaned towards her and gave her a kiss. She chuckled as he rubbed her face and got up to take the tray back to the kitchen. He ran back to the bed and jumped over her to his side of the bed causing her to squeak before erupting into giggles. He pulled her down onto his chest and wrapped his arm around her while the other adjusted the cover over them.

They spent the rest of the evening and night alternating between rounds of sleeping and waking up to sate each other's needs. By morning, they had both made arrangements to be off work and Klaus sent Kol a message to see if he would be home the next day. Kol didn't answer him, but he hoped he would be there the next day. Elena had texted Caroline to see if she was still upset with Stefan, and she replied that she didn't feel like talking to anyone for a while. Bonnie also texted her to let her know she was back from vacation and that she was finally caught up enough to hang out, but Caroline told her she was busy and would let her know when she had time. By the time 2:00 came around, neither of them could hardly move, so they pulled the covers over them and went to sleep. When they woke up, it was dark outside. They let out breaths of relief with the fact that they didn't have to go at each other unless they wanted to on their own terms. They finished up the last of the leftovers before deciding to pack everything up and head home. By the time they got to Caroline's house, it was after midnight, so they took everything in and went upstairs. Caroline pulled Klaus into her room with her and changed into a nightgown. Klaus decided to just strip down to his boxers and they went to bed.


	21. Chapter 21

**All Kinds of News**

Klaus and Caroline both managed to wake up on time the next morning. Klaus suggested that they both go out for breakfast, but Caroline gave him a look. Afterwards, she managed to drag him into the kitchen and tell her what he wanted. After making them whole an omelet, they ended up taking a shower together. After dressing, Caroline had Klaus give her his necklace so she could put his ring on it before putting it around his neck and he did the same for her. Neither of them liked their rings being off at that point, but they had to appear normal. Klaus told her that he would have a surprise for her at lunch and that he had received a text from Elijah saying that everyone was meeting at the club because Bonnie wanted to talk to everyone. Caroline focused on what was going on out of worry for her friend, but when she found the reason behind it, she smiled and told Klaus that they needed to go.

Work moved slowly for both Katherine and Caroline at the bookstore. Katherine had come up with an idea and she thought Caroline might like it. She was a little nervous about talking to her and knew that something had went down between Caroline and Stefan because she would get a glare every time she asked what had happened.

_"Caroline, I need to talk to you about something important. I think you're going to like it, but I want to run it by you before I do it."_

_"What is it Kat?"_

_"Okay I know that most days are so slow in here that it doesn't make sense for us to both be here at the same time, and we both have seemed to have found someone that we would like to spend more time with."_

_"Where's this going, Kat?"_

_"I want to add your name to the deed with mine. I also want us to start splitting shifts. Both of us would only have to work half the day, except for busy days when we would both be working. I'm also going to start being closed on Mondays since it's our slowest day of the week. That would leave us splitting up the times on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, and we would both work Fridays and Saturdays at the same time."_

_"How long have you been thinking about this?"_

_"I came up with the idea this week and I wanted to run it by you before going through with it. We can tell everyone after we get it done. What do you say? I can have the papers ready by the end of the day and we can make our own announcement tonight."_

_"Are you sure you want to co-own this place? I mean you started everything; I just work with you."_

_"I'm sure. You've usually done more work than I have here and I want us to both be able to have a more stable schedule. With being an owner, you wouldn't get paid hourly; you and I would be getting paid from the profits. We won't be rich like the guys, but we wouldn't have to work as much to get paid the same."_

_"If you're sure this is what you want to do, then I'd be happy to co-own this place with you."_

_"I have another issue I need to talk to you about."_

_"Okay the first bit of news was great, but you look really nervous about this part. What is it Kat?"_

_"There's another reason I wanted to get the business squared away… I'm pregnant?"_

_"What?"_

_"Don't make me repeat it."_

_"No, I heard you. Does Elijah know?"_

_"He was the one that took me to the doctor. I thought I caught the stomach flu, but they did a blood test and I'm pregnant."_

_"What did Elijah say?"_

_"He said he didn't want me to run off from him. He wants us to keep working on our relationship since it just started, but he seemed really happy with the idea of a baby. I was freaking out and he calmed me down. He wants me to move in with him so he knows I make it to all my doctor's appointments and we have more time together to think about what we want with each other."_

_"I think you guys will be fine. Elijah is a nice guy and I'm sure he will stand by you through this. I think you guys will stay together, and not just because you have a baby on the way. I think you two will stay together because it's what you want to do."_

_"Okay well you can tell Klaus, but that's it. Everyone else will know tonight. I just think he deserves to know he's going to be an uncle and that I'll be staying at the mansion. He'll probably want to stay with you anyway."_

_"He'll get tired of my house eventually because it's way smaller than what he's been used to. When will you be moving everything?"_

_"Over the next few months. I'll have to get my clothes this week, but everything else can wait a while. I just hate to leave you there. If Klaus wasn't there with you right now, I probably wouldn't have considered it."_

_"Okay well give me a text when you decide to swing by so I know to be home."_

_"I will. You took this a lot better than I thought you would."_

_"Right now, I don't think anything could surprise me."_

_"Everything has been so crazy lately. Bonnie heard that you and Klaus are together and refused to believe it. She said she would believe it when she sees it."_

_"Well I guess she'll see it tonight."_

_"I guess she will. Elijah and Klaus are on their way. Klaus is going to sit with you while I go to lunch. Then Elijah is going to stay with me while you go to lunch. It's great being able to have your own business. Nobody can gripe to you about having guests or how long you take your lunch. You'll love co-owning with me. The papers will be ready to sign by closing time."_

_"I'll be here." _She said with a laugh. Katherine was so glad that her friend was happy again. She regretted telling Stefan because it seemed to have caused a rift between them. A few minutes later, Klaus and Elijah came into the bookstore. Elijah went straight to Katherine and walked her out. Klaus walked over to Caroline and wrapped his arms around her.

_"I have your surprise for you. Well part of it."_

_"I just had an interesting conversation with Katherine and I think I need to tell you about it."_

_"Elijah told me that she's pregnant."_

_"Oh there's more."_

_"How much more could there be?"_

_"Elijah asked her to move in with him to make sure she gets to her doctor appointments and they can have more time together to make sure their relationship is what they want. AND Katherine is drawing up the paperwork today to add my name to the deed. I will be the co-owner after today and then we're going to be changing our schedules. We'll be closed Sundays and Mondays. She and I will split the hours on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays. However, Fridays and Saturdays are will be whole days that we work together."_

_"Is there anything else?"_

_"I don't think so. I'm only allowed to tell you. She's going to tell everyone else tonight when Bonnie makes her announcement."_

_"Okay well here is your surprise." _He said as he offered her a rolled up paper from behind his back.

_"What is this?"_

_"Blueprints. I thought that we could go over them and you could tell me what you wanted to change before we start building."_

_"Blueprints… for the house you want to build for us?"_

_"Yes. I thought we could go over each room and you describe what you think it should look like and I'll draw it. I've already included an art room for me and a room for you to use for all your magic stuff. We'll have our own offices, unless you want to share, and we'll have a gym and pool."_

_"You seem really excited about this."_

_"Yes well I also thought ahead and made sure we would have rooms close to ours for when kids come along."_

_"I went next door earlier and bought one of those daily planners so I could keep up with our… activities. I will put an X by the date, and below the date I will mark N for no birth control or C for condoms. I say we go back to using condoms just in case we managed to finish the binding without getting knocked up. If we did, then I guess it won't matter, but if we didn't I want to keep it that way for a while. There's so much going on and everybody has to be ready for what's coming. I don't even want to think about having to fight of an attack while being pregnant."_

_"For safety reasons I agree with you. When the danger has passed, we'll talk about it again. I'm going to miss feeling your walls clamping down on me skin to skin."_

_"Oh I'll miss it too, but we have to be careful. I'm going to give you a little heads up though; we can't take condoms to rituals with us and sometimes there's so much energy that we won't be able to hold back from each other. It'll be sort of like the binding, but not as powerful. We have to have a back-up plan."_

_"What about birth control?"_

_"I can't get on it until we know for sure we didn't conceive the other night. Then we have to worry about it actually working. I'm highly resistant to medicine if you haven't noticed. What about you pulling out? If nothing else works, you might have to."_

_"I will if I can. It's a little hard to be in control when I'm inside you. I never even had the thought with you."_

_"That's because we're mates. Okay so we have to be careful, but we don't have a lot of ways to do that."_

_"We'll think of something. Does everybody have this problem?"_

_"No, it's usually just when it's the female is the witch. Men are sooo lucky. However, it's mostly difficult because it's me. If I was any other female, things would be easier."_

_"Do you see me running or complaining?"_

_"No."_

_"So lighten up. We'll figure out something, but if we don't we'll deal with stuff as it comes up."_

_"Fine. So what do you want to do now? Kat is going to be at lunch for another half of an hour."_

_"I'll show you the blueprints, and during your lunch we can discuss changes. Tonight, we'll sit down and draw what we want the rooms to looks like."_

_"Sounds good to me. Let's get started because I don't think we need to tell Kat and Elijah yet."_

_"We won't tell them until we have it built. However, I do have to let Rebekah know. With her knowing, the Salvatores and Elena will know."_

_"I really don't want to talk to Stefan yet, so how are we going to get around him tonight?"_

_"We aren't. He can lose the attitude or I will make him leave you alone. I hope he behaves for you and Bekah's sakes, but I don't know."_

_"Your sister still doesn't like me. I saw how she looked at me out the window the other day. If looks could kill I would be dead."_

_"I'm her favorite brother. When she realizes that I'm still her brother and that now she has a sister, she'll come around. Just give her some time and try not to scare her in the meantime."_

_"So she's worried that I'm going to take her brother away?"_

_"So to speak. Now, let's look at these blueprints before they get back. I want to be able to note what we're changing during your lunch."_

_"Okay. No more distractions. Let's get started." _She said with a giggle and Klaus smirked. She looked at him realizing what she said and shook her head. He started showing her floor plans and she made mental notes for things to add or change; there wasn't much that she wanted different. She had to admit he came up with the idea for a beautiful house. She had images running through her mind of what everything would look like, but kept them to herself.

When Kat and Elijah came back, Klaus quickly rolled up the blueprints and he and Caroline made their way out for her lunch. They chose a booth in the back so they wouldn't be bothered and set out discussing changes and additions. Klaus wrote down her ideas and by the time lunch was over they had managed to finish. He told her that he would drop of the list and blueprints at the architect and they would have the revised blueprints in the next day or so. Klaus had another surprise for her, but he had agreed with Elijah that they would tell her and Katherine at the club later.

The rest of the day passed too quickly for Caroline; she didn't want to go to the club that night. Klaus and Elijah showed up to take the girls on over. Everybody was meeting before the club opened to discuss their news. Everybody agreed on an order in which to give news before it would become a group discussion. Bonnie and Jeremy would go first. Then Katherine and Elijah, followed by Stefan and Rebekah, Damon and Elena, and ending with Klaus and Caroline. With everyone in agreement, Bonnie and Jeremy stood up to begin. Bonnie decided to be the one to tell the story.

_"Okay guys, I know we've been gone for a couple weeks and when we came back we were really busy getting back on track, but now we wanted to take a few minutes to catch up. While we were on the cruise, I got sick and had to see the doctor on board. I'm pregnant." _She said smiling, but continued when she saw everybody getting ready to rush at her. _I'm not done yet. Jeremy and I were talking the next day when we walked past the chapel and saw a couple getting married. Jeremy proposed and we didn't want to wait until we came back, so we're also married!"_

Everything went by crazily for the next few minutes. All the girls swarmed to Bonnie to wrap her in a group hug, while the men all went to clap Jeremy on the back in congratulations. When it came time for Katherine and Elijah to give their news, Katherine decided to speak first regarding the store, but Elijah would take over and explain moving and the baby.

_"Well I guess it's our turn. This first part includes Caroline, and we've already taken care of all the little details today. I added her to the deed today; we both now own the bookstore. WE made changes to our schedule too. We'll be closed Sundays and Mondays now, but open the rest of the week using the same hours. However, we'll be splitting the shifts for 3 days out the week. This decision was best for both of our interests, and I will let Elijah explain my reasons." _She said while turning to Elijah to pass the floor to him.

_"Katherine will be moving into my family's house with me. We went to the doctor a couple days ago because we thought she had caught a stomach virus, but when the blood test came back, it revealed that she too is pregnant. She's not very far along but we want to take this opportunity to explore our relationship before the baby comes. I have no doubts that we will be fine, but we want to be sure."_

Once again, the girls swarmed for a group hug, but the guys shook Elijah's hand instead of clapping him on the back. Damon and Elena decided to speak up next instead of waiting for Stefan and Rebekah.

_"Okay so everybody listen up because I'm only going to say this once." _Damon began and smirked when almost everyone rolled their eyes. _"Okay, so everyone knows that me, Stefan, and Caroline are pagans. Caroline performed the ritual equivalent of a marriage on us, but Elena wanted us to be legally married and we eloped. We ran down to the courthouse a couple days ago and got married. We also found out that she is pregnant too. It must be in the water or something because I'm afraid for all us menfolk."_

_"Damon and I will be staying at the boarding house since he's the eldest out of him and Stefan. Stefan can explain the rest with their turn, but I also wanted to add that I got a promotion at work."_

She finished and the girls hugged again. Damon made the remark about women being so sensitive and got a few slaps from them. The men clapped him on the back before helping the women slap him. Then Stefan and Rebekah stood up and Stefan decided he would speak for both of them.

_"Caroline also did a handfasting for us the same night as Damon and Elena. I had already given Rebekah a ring and we decided to set a date so she can have her dream wedding. We'll be getting married in June. We have decided to buy a new house or build one, so we aren't living with Damon and Elena since they began making their own family. Another reason is because we have as well. Rebekah is pregnant too."_

Everyone started shifting in their seats and looked at Klaus and Caroline. They were all wondering if Caroline was pregnant too, and it made her feel more worried than ever that she could be. It was way too early to even begin to find out, so she would just have to smile and play it off. Klaus decided to speak for them.

_"Caroline and I are together now. I know some of you have been worried about her since she got out of the hospital a few weeks ago, but she's stopped drinking and her health has greatly improved. I'm going to be staying at her house to give Elijah and Katherine some space to work things out and I was planning on telling Stefan that he could take Rebekah there and stay with her, but it seems like they already made plans. Caroline and I haven't been together long, but we've both been really happy together. Since everything is still pretty new to us, we will probably be spending a lot of time together, so if you don't see us every day, don't worry. Another thing is that we're going to be trying to help Kol. I know he doesn't want anything to do with us and that he's fallen into a very deep rut, but I think we have a shot at helping him and we're going to take it. We only ask that everyone let us do what we got to do before trying to interfere. On another note, Elijah and I have hired someone to work in the office so he and I will have more time to work through the new events in our lives. He will be starting here tomorrow morning, but I don't think you all will see much of him. Now I need Stefan, Damon, and Rebekah to follow me for a private discussion." _He finished as he turned back to Caroline. She gave him a small smile and he kissed her cheek.

_"So Blondie isn't pregnant too then?"_

_"DAMON! Don't even start with me!" _Caroline screeched with a stomp.

_"Well?"_

_"You nosey prick, we just started having sex a couple days ago since you want to pry into my business, so I guess the only thing to say is that time will tell." _He finished it a rush. Stefan lowered his head. He wanted to make things up between them but after seeing her avoid him, he knew she wouldn't hear him right then. Klaus gave Caroline another kiss on the cheek with a smirk and led the smaller group up to his office to explain that he was building a house for Caroline and him. He was now worried for Caroline with every other female she associated with being pregnant at the same time.

Downstairs, Caroline was worried about the same thing. She knew Klaus would be back down soon and they would leave to find Kol, so she decided to spend some time with Bonnie. She would see Kat and Elena later, but she hadn't seen Bonnie since getting out of the hospital.

_"Congratulations Bonnie. I'm so happy for you."_

_"You look better than the last time I saw you. So… you and Klaus? How did that happen?"_

_"It just happened. He's been really helpful with everything and I've actually managed to let go of Tyler. I haven't even thought about him for days."_

_"So you're happy?"_

_"I'm very happy, Bonnie. I didn't think I could be this happy anymore."_

_"He seems different with you than he was with Tatia. What happened to her?"_

_"She was cheating on him. She actually moved away a couple days ago. We got together while you were gone. I know it must seem like everything has happened so fast, but we actually thought about everything before we started this. He was upset over Tatia's actions, I was upset over Tyler's death, and I don't want to sound like we are just using each other to get over our past, but we have been helping each other get past it. We have a lot in common and we value the same things, so we kind of bonded through everything. One thing led to another and here we are. We're doing well, so we want to keep it up."_

_"As long as he treats you right and you guys are happy, then I'm happy for you. I hope everything goes perfectly for you two."_

_"I'm sure we'll have our ups and downs like everybody, but we'll get through them." _She said as she heard everyone coming back. She gave Bonnie one more hug before she grabbed her purse and made her way back to Klaus. They said goodbye to everyone and made their way out of the club.


	22. Chapter 22

**Helping Kol**

Klaus drove him and Caroline to his brother's apartment. They could see the lights on and hear the music blaring, but it didn't look like he had company. Caroline stood behind Klaus as he knocked on the door. When the door didn't open, Klaus pulled out the spare key and opened the door. They saw Kol passed out next to a pile of puke. Klaus went and picked his brother up and put him on the bed. Caroline checked the rest of the apartment to make sure no one else was there before locking the apartment door and setting up her supplies. It helped that he was already lying on his back in the bed, so she didn't have to reposition him. She motioned for Klaus to rest his hands on his brother's head and focus on healing him in every way needed, while she did the same with her hands on his chest. She called the elements to her and started chanting. They couldn't see with their eyes closed, but they knew it was working. They could see the room lighting up from behind their eyelids. When the spell was finished, Caroline released the elements and started picking up the trash from around the apartment. Klaus went to clean the puke out of the floor and gather up his brother's clothes to wash. Kol was still sleeping when they were done, so Caroline decided to put a protection ward on the apartment and told Klaus to pay attention so he would know how to do it later. When she was finished, she got a bowl out and filled it with water. Klaus took the bowl and a rag and started cleaning his brother up. Caroline gathered clean clothes and took them to the bathroom and laid them on the counter. When she came back, she saw that Kol had woken up.

_"What are you doing here Nik?"_

_"I wanted to see my little brother."_

_"I feel different."_

_"Kol, I brought my girlfriend with me. We cleaned the place up and we aren't leaving until you talk to us. Caroline just put your clothes in the bathroom, so go get a shower and we'll talk when you get out."_

_"Why did you bring your girl brother?"_

_"Because I think she can help you. She's been in your shoes in a way. The night I met her, she drank so much from stress that her heart tried to stop. I was there and saw her. She hasn't touched a drop since."_

_"Wait a minute… you said Caroline. What happened to Tatia?"_

_"She was sleeping with Elijah. We've been over for weeks and so have she and Elijah. Elijah is with Caroline's friend, Katherine now. They recently found out they were expecting a baby. We'll explain everything when you're out of the shower."_

_"I'm glad you got rid of that bitch. She was a money hungry whore that caused nothing but trouble."_

_"Me too. I'm really happy with Caroline."_

_"It's nice to meet you Kol, even if the situation isn't ideal." _Caroline spoke softly with a smile and looked at Klaus. She nodded at him to let him know Kol would be better now. Kol got up and dragged himself to the bathroom. When Kol came back out, he looked a lot better than he had in months.

_"I'm sorry I didn't say anything to you when you introduced yourself. It's nice to meet you too Caroline. So, you and Nik?"_

_"Yea it kind of just happened." _She replied with a laugh.

_"I like her Nik. She seems like she is more than capable of taking you on."_

_"I think she's been handling me just fine." _He replied with a smirk that made Caroline blush and start laughing. "_How are you feeling Kol?"_

_"Like I got hit by a truck, but better than I have I a while. I can't figure out why I feel so different today, but I like it. Maybe you guys are rubbing off on me?"_

_"I'd like to think so. Do you think you'll stay ok now? Elijah and Katherine are staying at the mansion, Rebekah is staying with Stefan at the boarding house until they get their own house, and Damon and Elena re married. One thing that you will find crazy is that Katherine, Rebekah, Elena, and Bonnie are all pregnant."_

_"Whoa seriously? What about you two? Should I be expecting a niece or nephew from you guys?"_

_"I wouldn't think you should yet. Everything is still pretty new to us."_

_"Let me know if that changes. I'm going to call for pizza and then I'm going back to bed. Will you guys be back soon?"_

_"We'll be back sometime this week. You should call Elijah and Bekah; they've missed you too. We'll let them know you're doing better." _Klaus said as he and Caroline made their way to the door to leave.

_"Thanks for not giving up on me Nik. I don't know why everything is different today, but I'm glad it is. I'm through with this. It'll be better this time; I promise." _Kol spoke quickly. Klaus and Caroline gave him a smile and a wave before leaving Kol to finish his evening out. Klaus then drove them over to her house to start drawing what the rooms would look like in their new house.

**Klaus and Caroline POV**

Klaus and Caroline spent most of the evening trying to draw out what the rooms would look like after he sent a text to Rebekah and Elijah about Kol. They couldn't believe he was better, and Stefan ended up calling Caroline. After she explained what they did, she hung up so he could relay to the others who were aware of magic. When the drawings were halfway done, Klaus decided to take a break to talk with Caroline.

_"I talked to the architect earlier. He thinks the house will be done in March, but we'll have to finish setting everything up and furnishing it after. I say it'll be ready to move in by April."_

_"I have to figure out what I'm going to do with this place. I could rent it out or just leave it empty in case we want to use it later. I don't want to get rid of it though."_

_"I say we rent it out. There are always people looking to rent a nice place for a great price."_

_"I was thinking we could let Kol live here to get him out of that apartment. It's already got a protection ward here and it's a better neighborhood. It's a pretty big place for just one guy, but I think he'd like it. Maybe he'll meet someone to share it with eventually."_

_"I hadn't thought about that, but it's a great idea. I'll let him know."_

_"Kat will be picking up her stuff soon, and we'll have two spare bedrooms if you want to go ahead and move him in. At least he wouldn't be alone while we are building the house. Or he could go to the cabin; it's not that far out of town and it's still better than that apartment."_

_"What has you worried so much about Kol?"_

_"I don't know. I think something is in that area. I would feel better if we got him out of there sooner."_

_"I'll give him the option to choose which he wants to do." _He replied as he pulled out his phone to call his brother. He walked out of the room for the conversation. When he came back, Caroline was gazing at his drawings and smiling. He took a moment to watch her before she looked up. _"He said he didn't want to intrude on our time together so he has agreed to stay at the cabin until we move into the new house. He was surprised that we were moving into a new house. I called Elijah and told him what was going on too. He took it better than I thought he would. Katherine said she would talk to you about it tomorrow though."_

_"That's fine. So, when does he want to move in?"_

_"He said whenever we were ready for him to. I told him to start packing and I would have the movers get his stuff tomorrow. I know you don't think he's safe there, so I thought I would rush it."_

_"Tomorrow is fine. I'll give you the key tomorrow when you take me to work. I'm working the morning shift tomorrow, but the afternoon shift the next day. I guess you won't be going to work this week?"_

_"That is correct. Elijah is training the new guy, but I'll stop by on Sunday to overlook everything. After that, we'll take turns on who goes to check. Elijah will have next Sunday, and then we'll just switch out each week."_

_"Sounds good. So, now that you have all this time on your hands, what are you going to do with it?"_

_"Well I was hoping you would let me sit with you while you work. I also have to keep the meetings with the building crew, but that won't be too often."_

_"Now how am I supposed to get any work done with you there distracting me all the time?" _She said leaning into him to tease him. He pulled her to straddle his lap and kissed her before replying.

_"I guess we'll just have to work on our self-control love."_

_"Like that is going to be easy." _She replied against his mouth as he gripped her hips. "_Wait… I'm going to have to go raid Kat's room to see if she has condoms. I don't have any. Do you have any?"_

_"Shit! No, I forgot to swing by and get some. I'll help you look." _He replied as they stood and dashed to Katherine's room. Klaus didn't really know where to look and he wasn't entirely comfortable looking through Kat's stuff, so he just stood at the doorway. Caroline checked every place she knew Katherine would have placed them while turning up empty handed every time. When she realized it was useless, she turned back to Klaus.

_"She must have taken them all with her or ran out. There isn't any here and the freaking store is closed."_

_"What do you want to do?"_

_"You want to practice control?"_

_"How much control?"_

_"I want you pretty bad right now, so I don't want to wait until tomorrow. Do you think you have enough control to pull out before you go?"_

_"I can try, but I don't know how much good I can. I've never had a problem pulling out until I got with you. I don't know why that is exactly, but I will still try."_

_"I better mark the book then." _She replied as she wrapped her arms around his neck. He lifted her up around his waist and walked them to her room. They were both burning with need by the time he landed them on the bed. He sat up long enough to pull their clothes off. He crushed his lips to her and reached his hand down to tease her center. He found her already ready for him. "_No teasing please. I don't think I can wait." _She whispered. It was all he needed to hear. He parted her legs wider and thrust into her. They both groaned from the feeling. Klaus didn't waste any time picking up the pace and they had the bed smacking against the wall. He listed one of her legs over his arm and tilted her hip to hit a new angle and she came. He kept the new angle until he got a second orgasm from her before pulling out and pulling them off the bed. He figured his best shot of pulling out would be doggy style, so he pushed her upper body over the top of the mattress and pushed back into her. Her back arched and fell as she rolled her hips back to him with his every thrust. He felt himself getting close, so he reached his hand around to flick her clit. She let loose a scream when she came and he lost control with the feeling of her tightening around him. He released before he could pull out, so he continued to thrust and ride them through their orgasms.

_"I couldn't stop. I'm sorry, but I just couldn't pull out." _He whispered as he leaned down to rest his head on her spine. He rested there for a minute before pulling out of her and picking them both off of the ground. He laid them down on the bed and rolled onto his back, covering his face with his arm. She rolled over to rest her head on his chest, knowing he felt bad about not having control.

_"We'll be okay. You tried. We'll just have to remember to pick up condoms tomorrow. I'm going to the bathroom to see what I can do about this."_

_"I'm going to go put everything up downstairs. I'll be back in a couple minutes." _He replied as he got up and cleaned himself off before putting on his pajama pants and walking out of the room. She made her way to the bathroom to clean up and hope she could drain everything out. When she got done, she turned on the shower and went to grab her nightgown. She saw Klaus sitting on the bed and pulled him up to follow her. He silently followed behind her and stripped back down.

_"I got as much out as I could. I'm not going to worry about it. All that will do will stress us out and we'll start fighting. I don't want to fight with you."_

_"I don't want to fight with you either. It wouldn't bother me if you got pregnant, but until I know that the trouble has passed, I don't want you at further risk. If we're not prepared the next time, then we won't." _He said as he kissed her. She felt herself becoming heated agin as she pressed herself up against him.

_"Does that start tomorrow or right now?"_

_"Why?" _He asked as he looked at her. She grabbed his hand and brought it to her to show him that she wanted him again. He felt how wet she was again and he hardened. He wanted to say no, but he saw her breathing heavy against him and kissed her. As they deepened the kiss, he lifted her around his waist and pushed her up against the shower wall. She held on to his shoulders tightly as she tried to lift herself on him, but he took over and held her still against the wall. He bent enough to enter her before resuming his position. He pulled back almost completely out before diving back in hard. He only picked up his pace a little bit until she came. He rested her knees over his arms at his elbows while resting his hands against her lower back to pull her into him. She started using his shoulders for leverage to lift and drop herself in time with his thrust. They picked up speed until they were both moaning nonstop. She rested her forehead against his when she felt herself tightening again, and he picked up speed again. By then she was crying out while pulling his hair almost painfully. When she came, he immediately released with her. They were both still panting as they continued rocking against each other.

When Klaus pulled out of her, she immediately stepped under the spray to clean herself again. When she thought she had everything cleaned up, she washed her hair and moved so Klaus could wash himself. After they got out and dried themselves, they dressed and went back to the bedroom. Caroline didn't even bother to blow dry her hair, before grabbing her day planner and making the necessary markings. She looked at the clock and saw that it was nearly midnight and then went to dry her hair. After her hair was dry, she went to lay down next to Klaus in the bed.

_"What time is it love?"_

_"Almost midnight."_

_"Can you handle any more news today?"_

_"Depends on the news."_

_"I was thinking about something earlier, and I realized why I was when I saw you looking at the drawings. I catch myself having these moments where I see you and I can't move. All I can do is watch you and I get this feeling that builds up in me. When you notice me watching and smile, I feel like everything is perfect and that we don't have a threat coming towards us at any time. I've never had that feeling before. I'm pretty sure I know what that feeling is now. I think I've already fallen in love with you. You don't have to say it back right now. I know you have a lot of things going on and that it will probably take a while to be able to say it back, but I want you to wait until you feel its right to say it back."_

_"I feel something, but I don't know what it should be called right now. It feels like love, but you're right; until I know for sure I won't say it. Just know that I DO feel something."_

_"I know you do. I can see the differences in you, and so can everyone else. I don't think I'll have to wait too long to hear you say it back to me."_

_"I don't think you will either." _She giggled and kissed him. He squeezed her in a gentle embrace before putting her head down on his chest and covering them up.

**One Month Later**

Caroline was waiting patiently while tapping her foot on the floor. She heard the ding from her phone's timer and she stood up. She made her way to the bathroom sink and looked down at the little stick that would tell her what to expect in the future. When she saw a negative sign, she breathed in a breath of relief. She grabbed the test and opened the door to the bathroom to see Klaus pacing her bedroom. She held the stick up while she spoke.

_"It's negative."_

_"Then why are you late?"_

_"Because that can happen sometimes. It doesn't always mean something is wrong."_

_"You're really late."_

_"I could just be skipping this month. I've skipped before and nothing happened."_

_"Maybe you should take some more or go to the doctor to be sure."_

_"I'll take some more. I'm telling you that they'll say the same thing."_

_"How can you be so sure?"_

_"Use your healing ability to check. You have to be able to check the entire body before you heal someone, so you would be able to tell. I've checked and I didn't sense anything."_

_"What if you are and it's blocking you? If that's the case, it would probably block me too."_

_"Just try and I'll agree to take more tests. I'm not going to the doctor until I start to worry." _ She spoke softly. He nodded and closed his eyes while placing his hands under her shirt on her stomach.

_"I don't sense anything either. I'll go get the rest of the tests; I got one of every kind." _ He said as he raced out of the room and to the living room. He brought her a plastic cup and handed her the bag full of tests.

_"I can't pee again right now. I just peed on the stick. Give me a little while so I can get enough to take the rest of these." _She said with a giggle. He nodded and went back to pacing. They had been careful since the night they had discovered that there wasn't any condoms in the house, but he was still worried about it. His nervousness only increased each day that her period hadn't come.

A little while later she got up to go to the bathroom again. She filled up the cup and used the dipper to take the tests that required drops, and then dunked the rest of the test down in the cup until the time was up to take them out. She made sure to line up each test in order, so she could check them. She waited until the time was up on the first one and started scanning the tests. All of them showed up negative and she breathed another breath of relief. She knew Klaus would still have a hard time believing it; especially with all the other females pregnant.

_"What do they say?" _He asked as he walked into the bathroom. She pointed to the counter and he went to read them. "_I still want you to go to the doctor. I find this a little hard to believe."_

_"Then let's go. I don't want you pacing around here worrying when everything is fine."_

_"Alright love, come on." _He said as he grabbed her hand and pulled him behind her to the car. They drove to the clinic and took their seats while they waited. When the nurse called them back, she had Caroline fill up a cup so they could give a urine test and then ordered the blood test. When Caroline handed her the cup, another woman came in to draw her blood. After everything was taken care of, they had her take off her bottom set of clothes and lay down on the table. The doctor gave her an exam. When they didn't see anything wrong, they decided to give her an internal ultrasound to be sure while waiting on her blood test to come back. Before they could insert the ultrasound, the blood test came back negative. They went ahead and checked with the ultrasound and showed them that she wasn't pregnant. They didn't see anything wrong and suggested that it was because she had been abstinent for such a long period of time that her body was just adjusting to the change. They went back home after that.

_"I tried to tell you that nothing was wrong." _Caroline supplied as they entered the house.

_"I don't know whether to be relieved or disappointed about it."_

_"It's okay to be both." _She replied as he walked to her and crushed his lips to hers. After a couple minutes he pulled back so they could breathe.

_"It's still not safe."_

_"I know."_

_"I really thought you were…"_

_"I know. It's okay."_

_"For a moment I wished you were." _He whispered and dropped his head to her shoulder. She felt tears coming to her eyes, but she pushed them down. She didn't tell him that for a moment she had wished she was too. It wouldn't help either of them to be upset about it.

_"I love you." _She whispered causing his head to shoot up and look at her. She stared into his eyes and focused on making her voice stay steady and firm. _"I love you." _She repeated and he crushed his lips back to hers. He picked her up and walked them to the couch and sat. She pulled her shirt off before reaching for his. After he was stripped of his shirt, he lifted them both from the couch and carried her to their room. They stayed in there the rest of the day.

The next morning, they got up and started getting ready for their day when Caroline grabbed her head and fell back onto the bed. Klaus reached for her and got sucked into the vision she was receiving. It was the same scene he had seen before when he and Stefan had looked into her head while she slept; only there were differences. They watched as the attack wasn't as long as it was before and they saw him recover. The scene continued as they watched the figures be defeated before everything zoomed forward to the big battle they had been worried about. They saw themselves get separated from each other while protecting people. Then the scene forwarded until they saw Caroline running in the direction she could sense Klaus. She saw him and their friends inside a circle of protection while the shadow figures tried to break the barrier. She threw some force at them to distract them and lead them to her. She yelled for them to stay as she ran the other way. The figures followed her until she led them far enough away. She then turned around and started calling on all her powers at once to build a barrier over the whole town and start filling it with light. Klaus saw himself run around the corner but stop because the light had become so bright that he couldn't see. The two had to block out part of the vision because it had become so bright, but they could hear the creatures screeching as they were destroyed. When the sounds stopped they saw the light dim until it was all sucked back into Caroline. They watched as they saw Klaus look to Caroline and start running towards her. When Caroline saw him she collapsed to the ground. All of a sudden the vision ended and they were pulled back into reality.

_"No no no no no! That can't be all of it. There has to be more!" _Klaus started shouting next to Caroline. Caroline was shaking from what she had seen. She didn't know if Klaus noticed what she had looked like in the vision, but she was filled with fear in her present moment.

_"I'll be fine."_

_"You don't know that!"_

_"We wouldn't have seen that much if I wouldn't have been!"_

_"You collapsed! You haven't had any problems since we were bound. Why would you collapse if you were fine?"_

_"Because that was a lot of magic! I had to use it all! You were given healing and protection for a reason. You can't change what we saw or it could kill one of us. You'll save me." _She finished in a teary whisper.

_"How can you be so sure?"_

_"Because I believe in you. You're already getting strong. Did you notice the surroundings? I saw the flyers and flags for the fair. The fair comes during the end of June. We have to tell the others." _She said while pulling out her phone. He put his hand on hers to stop her while pressing himself against her and crushing his lips to hers.

_"I can't lose you." _ He whispered when he had pulled away. He looked in her eyes and tried to keep from releasing the tears he felt building up. She noticed and pulled him back to her. They laid there for over an hour embracing each other before he sat up. He knew she had to go to work and he needed to talk to the architect regarding their house. He was going to do whatever he could to rush the building further. Caroline decided to text Stefan and have him and Damon come to the bookstore. Elena and Rebekah were out on a shopping trip, so it wasn't a problem for them.

After arriving to work and Klaus leaving to discuss the house with the architect, Stefan and Damon finally showed up. She told them everything she had seen regarding the events and time frame. They both looked at her with worry. Damon told her that he would make sure he followed Klaus when it came time, but she told him that he had to stick with the others in case they needed healing. She told him that she felt like it would be Klaus that healed her because he wouldn't have been given the ability for another reason. After fully explaining everything, they agreed on what they needed to prepare for the future events before they left. Caroline finished her shift and left when Katherine showed up. Klaus met her coming out the door with a determined look on his face.

_"What have you got going through your head? I can tell you're planning something." _She asked as she narrowed her eyes at him. He held his hand out to her and she took it. He led her through the town's square until they got to the courthouse. They stopped in front of the door and he turned around to face her looking nervous.

_"We're already bound, but I want to be able to say that you're mine and I'm yours in every way. I don't want to wear our bands on a necklace anymore. I want to be able to wear them where they belong and be able to share everything with you. I want you to marry me… right now. I don't want to wait anymore." _He said smiling as he pulled her to him. She looked at him smiling and nodded her head with a teary smile. He picked her up and twirled her around before setting her down and taking her hand. He opened the door and pulled her in with him. When she walked in, she saw Bonnie and Jeremy standing there. They burst out in smiles when they saw she had come through the door with Klaus.

_"What are you guys doing here?" _Caroline asked and looked between them and Klaus.

_"Klaus called us this morning and asked us to come here and be your witnesses in case you said yes. So, here we are." _Bonnie explained and ran to give her a hug. Jeremy shook Klaus' hand and they all walked to the desk to register for the license. After the license was filed, they took the form upstairs to the courtroom for the justice of the peace to marry them. When it came time for the rings, they took turns taking each other's necklaces off to get the rings. When they were in place to stay, they threw the necklaces in the trash with a smile. Bonnie and Jeremy watched them and laughed when they saw the necklaces hit the trash. Afterwards, they took the form back to the desk and waited for them to type up their marriage license. They all walked out of the courthouse smiling and went back to the bookstore.

Katherine looked up when she heard the door and wondered why Caroline was back at the shop. She called Elijah over to her as she watched Caroline, Klaus, Bonnie, and Jeremy come walking to the counter.

_"Hey Kat, how fast can you call to fix the deed?"_

_"Nothing's wrong with the deed. Why do you think it needs fixed?" _She asked looking worried. Caroline smiled and held up the license for Katherine and Elijah to see. _"Oh my god! Oh my god, you're married! When did this happen?" _She asked walking around the counter to hug her friend and Elijah walked around to congratulate his brother.

_"Just now." _She answered smiling.

_"Damn you two! Why didn't you say anything when you left? I would have closed the shop and came with you!"_

_"I didn't know!" _ Caroline answered with a laugh at her friend's hissy fit. _"Klaus surprised me when I walked out the door. I didn't know until we were at the courthouse."_

_"Klaus, you couldn't tell me and your brother that you two were going to get hitched?"_

_"I couldn't wait. We needed witnesses that weren't related to either of us and they were the easiest pick. Elijah is my brother and you two own the store together; not to mention you were listed as the next of kin when she was in the hospital. But, you two are the first ones we've told that wasn't there." _He answered trying to appeal to her in her hormonal state. He didn't want to make her madder at him than she already was. Elijah sensed what was going on and spoke up.

_"Niklaus, Caroline, might I suggest we throw a celebration tonight at the club to announce your news to everybody else?"_

_"Oh brother, you read my mind." _Klaus answered as he picked Caroline up and twirled her around again. When they stopped spinning, they crushed their lips together until everyone started clearing their throats. Klaus set her back down and Elijah sent out a text to everybody to meet at the club a couple hours before opening time to give them time to celebrate without a crowd. Klaus and Caroline took their exit to go home and enjoy themselves before having to get ready for the party.

Bonnie and Jeremy had some things do to before the party and made their own way out, leaving Katherine and Elijah at the bookstore alone. Katherine was excited for her friend and was hopeful that her and Elijah would one day make that step in their relationship. Elijah was watching her smile from the news and noticed that she had developed the glow everyone mentioned. He came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her.

_"Are you disappointed that they're married and we're not?" _Elijah asked her softly

_"We'll get married if we decide to get married. I'm happy for my friend, just like I'm happy to just be with you." _Katherine replied and twisted her head to look at him with a smile. When she turned back around, Elijah reached into his pocket for the box he had been carrying for over a week and held it up in front of them.

_"I've been holding on to this all week trying to find the perfect time to give it to you." _ He explained and noticed her breath hitch before picking up. He used his thumb to push the box open, revealing a wedding band set.

_"Are you sure?" _Katherine whispered.

_"More than anything. I know I don't say it often, but I do love you. You were there for me before we started seeing each other and I couldn't have found a better person to become my wife. Whenever you want to do it, I'll get everything arranged. You can have a huge wedding or we can go and do what Klaus and Caroline just did. It's whatever you decide you want to do. Will you marry me?"_

_"Yes. Yes, I will. I don't want to do it today, but we'll do it soon; I don't want to be showing in my dress. And I just want something small with our friends and family. Is that alright with you?"_

_"It sounds perfect. We'll announce the engagement this evening at the celebration."_

_"Okay. Here, let me close up the store, it's a slow day anyway and it'll give us extra time to get everything together for the party."_

_"Sure dear. Let me help you." _He answered as they went around the store putting everything up before flipping the sign and locking the door. Katherine sent a text to have the deed changed because of Caroline's marriage and they said it would be done by the next day. Then they went to the grill to give them the order so they could deliver it later.


	23. Chapter 23

**Party Time**

Everyone gathered at the club to wish the couple congratulations, and noticed that Kol had actually brought a date. When Klaus went to ask him about it, Damon went to question Caroline.

_"So, are you finally knocked up?"_

_"No Damon I'm not pregnant."_

_"Are you sure?"_

_"Yes, I'm sure. I can go pee on a stick right now and guarantee that it says negative."_

_"I'm just teasing you Blondie. You guys seem really happy together."_

_"We are really happy."_

_"I'm sorry about what Stefan said last month. He was just trying to look out for you. He's been moping about it since."_

_"Well maybe he should have butted out of it. We were being careful and we were both adults. It was none of Stefan's business."_

_"You're part right. It wasn't his personal business, but it is the covens. You're bound to your duties more than we are, and on that matter it was important that you stuck to tradition."_

_"Speaking of… thanks for the warning about the end of the binding." _She hissed and he started laughing. It took him a minute to finally compose himself enough to answer her.

_"What's the matter Blondie? Did you two wear yourselves out? I know Elena and I couldn't move for a couple days after. Neither could Stefan and Rebekah."_

_"Really? We went home the next day AND were completely normal the day after that."_

_"Well not all of us can be the strongest witch in the world." _He countered as they both laughed. _"We've missed you Blondie. You two are going to have to come by soon or Stefan and Rebekah are going to explode."_

_"Easier said than done. We've been really busy."_

_"I'd say you have." _He joked again casing them both to laugh. She excused herself and went to join Klaus. Damon went to tell his brother and Rebekah to go talk to Caroline and Klaus. Once Kol had introduced his date to Caroline, both couples were talking about organizing a double-date when they saw Stefan and Rebekah walk up. Kol and his date, Lena, decided it was a good time to go and talk to Elijah and Katherine.

_"Can we talk to you two?" _Stefan asked.

_"That depends… are you going to tell me that we're screwing up by getting married today?"_

_"No Caroline, we're both happy for you getting married. I'm not going to apologize for calling you out on your actions, but I will apologize for the way I went about doing it. I didn't mean to make you feel like you shouldn't be happy. You were doing so well before I talked to you. I was worried that you would go back downhill after, but everyone said that you guys were doing fine, so I gave you some space. You guys getting legally married today showed me that you two are doing great together. I also know that you are building a house and I think that was a good idea; especially giving Kol a place to stay that's safe."_

_"Caroline, I know we got off on the wrong foot more than once, but I do want to thank you for helping Kol. We were all scared that we would lose him, but now he's back to his old self. You're my sister now, in more ways than one and I want us to get along. Maybe one day we'll be friends, but we can't be that until we can be in the same room without tearing each other to pieces." _Rebekah interrupted.

_"Okay, one at a time. Stefan… You've been my brother since we were kids. I don't hate you for what you said. I know I should have been more responsible about everything, but it was still my choice. We've got too much coming up to be fighting with each other. Rebekah… I never had a problem with you except for you thinking I was trying to take people away from you. First you thought I wanted Stefan and you acted out. When you realized that I didn't I went into the hospital; and yes, part of that night was my fault. Then, you found out that my mate was your brother; you're favorite brother. You thought I would somehow take him away from you, even though you know I can't go anywhere because of what's going on. Even when everything is over, I have no reason to leave here for good. I mean, we're building a house right now. I wouldn't have let him even think about building one if I thought we were going to leave town. And, with us staying in town, you're still afraid that he will somehow be different than he was before. Yes, he'll be living with me and we're married and one day will have a family, but you're doing the same thing. You and Stefan are married, and you're going to have a huge wedding later; not to mention you guys have already started making your own family. I don't think you realize that I don't have anything that you don't have except magic; and that's something you can be glad you don't have. I wanted us to get along before we even met, so if you're really ready to actually mean what you said, then we'll get along, but I'm not going to sit there and have you lash out at me every time you don't get your way." _She finished and looked at Stefan and Rebekah. Stefan and Rebekah looked at each other before turning back to Klaus and Caroline. Rebekah decided to speak up first.

_"You're right; I did lash out at you. I'm sorry for thinking that you were taking Stefan and Nik from me. I've been awful all month thinking that I pushed you and Nik away by not accepting your bond. When you had to the binding ceremony, all I could think about was that I either had to side with Stefan or Nik and I blamed you. I'm sorry that I did, but everything has been so crazy since I've met you that I couldn't see another reason behind everything. I know you can't help who or what you are, or that my brother is your mate, but at the time that didn't matter to me. I couldn't imagine living with the life you have lived; always fighting for everyone and still losing so much. I also thought that you would never see my brother for who he was because you had lost your first husband. That's a lot to live with, and Stefan told me that you were pregnant when you lost them both. Do you think that's why you're not pregnant now? Could something have gone wrong from that?"_

_"Nothing's wrong with me. I've went to the doctor. I'm not pregnant but I can get pregnant. It's not safe for me to get pregnant right now, so I'm guessing that's destiny's way of saying to wait. It will happen when it's supposed to." _She explained.

_"Care, what are we going to do about the vision you saw? I know you think everything will be fine after the vision was cut off, but how can you be sure?"_

_"I have that feeling I get when something good happens. There's something about the vision that caught my eye that makes me believe I'll survive it. I can't say what it is right now, but I know it's what tips the scales in our favor. Remember what is supposed to happen after Beltane? When all of you get possessed, the other side will have access to what you guys know, so I can't tell you. If you don't know, they won't know. You guys just stick to the vision as close as you can. Don't try to change anything. I really can't say anything else."_

_"What are you not telling me love? I saw the vision the same as you did."_

_"Yes you did Klaus, but I told you that you should pay attention to every little detail and not just the main scene. I saw something that you didn't. I want to tell you so bad, but I can't. If there was a way to tell you, I would, but I can't without endangering everyone we care about."_

_"I don't like not knowing how to protect you."_

_"You won't even realize you are when you do it." _She replied with a smile. He looked at her curiously, but didn't say anything. He was trying to figure out the meaning in what she said. Stefan and Rebekah watched them while they also tried to figure out what she was referring to. Everybody guessed that Klaus would develop some kind of ability that he hadn't yet, which was what Caroline wanted them to think. They all went back to everyone else and started playing different party games that had them all laughing like they were teenagers again. Katherine and Elijah announced their engagement and the girls started talking about wedding details while the guys went to enjoy some beer. When opening time started drawing close, everybody parted ways to finish their night how they wished. Some stayed at the club, while the others went home.

Klaus and Caroline went home to further consummate their legal marriage into the early hours of the morning. When she was sure Klaus was sleeping, she walked into the bathroom and looked at herself in the mirror. Then, she took out a candle and lit it before turning out the light and reading the messages in the fire. She only had one question in mind she wanted answered. When she found her answer, she smiled and extinguished the candle flame. She went back to bed feeling peace for the first time in since she was a child.


	24. Chapter 24

**Beltane (May 1****st****)**

Caroline and Klaus were preparing everything for the ritual that would take place that night, while talking about everything that had happened recently. Katherine and Elijah had been married in a small ceremony one month prior and they had recently learned that they were going to have a boy. Damon and Elena had also found out that they would be having a boy. Bonnie and Jeremy found out that that they were in fact having twins instead of one and that both were girls, and Stefan and Rebekah were expecting a girl too. Klaus watched as the women were starting to show and was a little melancholy that he and Caroline hadn't got pregnant yet. She kept reassuring him that the time would come. He knew that after the ritual that night, they would be lost in each other again, but he figured it would be like the other times they had spent without protection and he would be disappointed with another negative test. So, he decided to let nature take its course until the danger had passed; he would worry then.

_"Klaus, do you remember everything you have to say tonight?"_

_"Yes love, I remember. Are you ready for after?" _He asked with a smirk

_"Oh yea. I can hardly wait." _She replied as she folded herself into him and kissed him hard. She felt him reacting and pulled away. _"We don't have the time right now. We'll be late if we start that now, or miss and you don't want to miss after." _She teased as she gathered her supplies and went to stand by the door. He followed after her and locked up before they got into the car. They drove to the boarding house and made their way to the circle with everyone else. This would be the first circle that Klaus wouldn't have to sit with the guest; he would get to participate. He was thrilled that he got to be the last one to enter the circle before Caroline came in.

_"This is a big gathering love, are you sure you want me to help you lead?"_

_"Yes Klaus, I'm sure. Besides, we get to be adventurous afterwards. We won't make it home; we wouldn't even make it back to the boarding house. We'll barely make it away from everybody." _She said knowing she was tempting him. She knew the night would be special for them and she hated not being able to tell him. She knew she only had to keep it to herself until the end of the next month, but it was driving her crazy. She made sure to have everything set up to help give her a cover story until then. She couldn't let the darkness get the information in her head.

They saw everybody making their way to the circle and they went to take their place. Once everyone was inside, the bonfire was lit and the guests were sitting in front of where the altar had been moved to. The ritual lasted for over an hour before Caroline finally released the elements and everybody took turns leaving the circle. When everybody was out, Caroline put out the fire and exited herself. She immediately felt herself heat up with want and grabbed Klaus' hand. They ran as she led them through the woods until they came upon the spot Caroline had set up. Klaus saw the tent and picked her up. They barely had the tent zipped up when she pulled off her robe and dress, and he took off his ritual wear. They launched themselves at each other and she pushed him down before climbing on top of him. He grabbed her hips to lift her until she rested right over him and then pulled her down. They both arched into each other and groaned with the pleasure they felt at joining together. She began rocking her hips, adding twists and rolls to surprise him at times. When she had her first orgasm, they both cried out. Klaus had nearly released with how tight she had clamped down on him. He grabbed her hips and flipped them over. She didn't even have time to full situate herself before he began pounding into her at full speed. She felt herself coming again and he reached to rub her clit. It pushed her into her orgasm faster and she screamed out. He couldn't hold his release back that time. He let himself go and kept rocking. Caroline grabbed his neck and pulled him down to her to crush his lips against hers. She already knew they wouldn't stop that night. She rolled them back over and pulled him up to be face to face with her.

_"This time's different. I'm still hard and I feel like we haven't even done anything." _He whispered against her lips. She smiled and bit his lower lip before rising and pushing herself down on him again.

_"We won't be stopping tonight. This won't stop until morning." _She explained as she continued pushing herself up and down. He looked at her with a lustful gaze before lifting his hips to thrust from below. She threw her head back with a moan before moving back to his lips. After getting her to orgasm twice, he moved her off of his lap and to her hands and knees. He pounded into her with everything he had until she came again before he felt himself release again.

They didn't stop until after dawn. With the effects of the ritual over, they packed everything up and headed home. When they got home, they went upstairs and Klaus thought they would be going to bed, but she launched herself at him again. He didn't question her until she stopped him form grabbing a condom. She told him that it didn't make sense to use one then since they had been at it all night without one. He gladly tossed it back to the nightstand before finishing what she started. They repeated this throughout the day until they were both too tired and sore to move, and they went to sleep.

**First Attack**

Caroline woke up alone and immediately felt that something was wrong. She quickly put her clothes on and checked the house. She looked around for any kind of a note from Klaus so she would know what happened to him. Then she called Stefan to see if they knew, but she didn't get an answer. She ran into the bathroom to grab her hair tie and stopped when she saw her reflection. She saw that she had put on the clothes she had seen in the vision of the first attack. She immediately ran out of the house and called Elena.

_"Hello?"_

_"Elena? Where are you?"_

_"I'm at the house. Are you okay?"_

_"I'm fine. Is Rebekah with you?"_

_"Yeah do you need to talk to her?"_

_"Do you know where Stefan and Damon are?"_

_"No they left earlier to make sure everyone left alright."_

_"Shit. You and Rebekah stay in the house. Go into the room where they keep all of the supplies for the circles and stay there. Take your phone and only answer for me. Do you understand?"_

_"What's going on Caroline?"_

_"It's started. I have to go. Don't worry, the guys will be fine. Just do as I say. I've got to go so lease stay safe inside. And don't let anyone in; not even the guys."_

_"Be safe Caroline."_

_"I'll be fine. I'll call you when it's safe." _She said as she hung up the phone and drove towards the boarding house. She saw the shadows dashing through the trees and pushed harder on the accelerator. She pulled off at the beginning of the driveway and dashed through the woods. She came upon the overlook of town and she put a barrier over it to protect the town. She saw the shadows looking over the forest as they rushed back towards the circle area. She knew what she would see when she got there and mentally prepared herself. She closed her eyes and focused on bringing al of her powers to the surface so they would be ready. She ran through the trees until she saw everyone gathered there with shadows encompassing them. She nearly cried when she saw Klaus in the center in the process of being taken over. She rushed forward as he rose and wrapped a barrier around the circle. Then she pushed the light to enter and cast the figures from the people they were possessing. One by one people staggered through the barrier to safety. Stefan and Damon made their way out when they were themselves again and rushed to anchor Caroline and loan her strength. They kept this up until Klaus was the only one left inside the barrier. When she filled the circle with more light the creature spoke to her.

**_This isn't over. You will fall._**

After the creature spoke, it screeched as it left Klaus body and Klaus fell to the ground. Caroline wanted to run to him, but she had to finish before she could. She started chanting and walked into the barrier to Klaus. She threw an extra barrier over herself and Klaus before started screaming her chant. The barrier filled with so much light, the onlookers couldn't see the couple anymore. It stayed that way until the screeching of the figures stopped and then the light slowly dissipated. Caroline lowered the barriers and fell to her knees next to Klaus. She quickly read him and knew he would be fine. She was crying by the time she started chanting a simple incantation to make him wake up. Everyone left her alone to help him, while Stefan and Damon checked out the coven members. Klaus came awake and she lifted his head to wrap her arms around his neck as she cried into his chest. Klaus brought his arms around her and tried to sit up with her. Damon and Stefan stood at the edge of the circle and motioned to Klaus that they should go to them. Klaus lifted Caroline's head to his before kissing her and trying to stand. Caroline helped him up as best as she could since she was feeling a little drained from the attack. They made their way out of the circle before Stefan and Damon started cleansing and blessing the circle since it had been tampered during the attack.

When they were done, they went back to Klaus and Caroline. Damon went to check them, but Caroline said she was fine and to check Klaus. She pulled out her phone and called Elena to let her know everyone was safe and alive. They were both crying by the time they hung up. Caroline was trying to avoid physical contact while she was in such an emotional state. She didn't need anyone to read her and find out what she knew; it would ruin everything. She closed her eyes and focused on clearing her head before walking back to Klaus.

_"Klaus is fine. There isn't any damage done to him, but you should probably take him home. Those things took a lot of energy out of him." _Stefan spoke quickly, noting the worry in her face.

_"How did they even get to everybody?"_

_"I don't remember everything, but I can remember before I was possessed. Damon and I went to make sure everyone was packed up and ready to leave since everybody stayed after the ritual. When we got there, people were already getting possessed. We tried to fight them off, but there were too many for us. Next thing I know is that I'm dropping to the ground and crawling out of the circle."_

_"They kicked our asses Blondie and you took on all of them by yourself. You're still walking around, so at least something went right. How the hell did you do that?" _Damon interrupted.

_"Listen, we knew I would get powerful after getting bound. I recognized things happening from the vision and ran straight here. Since I knew ahead of time what to expect, I pulled my powers up so they were easier to use when I needed them. That's how I did that. Now you know why I was so afraid of getting more power. I could see the fear in everyone's eyes when they looked at me tonight. Do you really think I wanted that?"_

_"We were scared for you…" _Stefan interrupted.

_"No you were scared OF me." _Caroline replied as she stepped back. Klaus saw her stepping back and crawled to his feet to go with her.

_"Caroline, don't run away again." _Klaus pleaded. _"I'm not letting you leave without me." _He continued as he reached her and wrapped his arms around her. She only tried to pull away once, but he stopped her. _"I promised you for better or for worse."_

_"I'm not leaving you." _She whispered and put her head back on his chest. He breathed in relief that she was still there and had stopped trying to run. Stefan and Damon thanked her for helping them before walking off to let them be alone. _"How did you end up here?"_

_"I got a call from Stefan asking me to meet him here. He said he found out something important that could help you. I offered to wake you up, but he said that you should get some rest before they told you. I thought I would only be gone for a little while, so I didn't leave a note. I drove over and walked to the circle. When I saw what was happening, I tried putting up a protection ward so I could call you, but I got tackled. That was the last thing I remember before I woke up with you leaning over me."_

_"That was too close. I almost lost you."_

_"You didn't lose me. I'm still here. I love you and I'm not going to leave you in any way."_

_"I know."_

_"I'm more worried about next month. That's when you collapse. We don't know what happens after."_

_"I'm not worried about it. You forget I know something no one else knows."_

_"Can I know now?"_

_"Nope. I can't tell you until after it happens. It won't be safe until then."_

_"If you're sure, then I guess I'll have to wait."_

_"I'm sure. It's a good thing."_

_"I'll take your word for it love." _He replied with a smirk and she smiled back at him. She took his hand and led them back to the boarding house. Klaus was worried about Caroline driving back by herself, but she insisted that they get both cars back home. Klaus stayed right behind her on the road thinking about what would happen the next month and what Caroline was talking about when she said she was sure she would be okay. Caroline was focused on what had happened that night. If she hadn't woken up alone, she wouldn't have known what was going on. She knew they had to be more careful with the people they were connected to, even if they were all there in the next part of the vision. When they both pulled into the driveway, they locked up the cars and went inside. They went upstairs and Caroline turned on the shower for them. Then she pulled him into the bathroom and stripped them down. After they were clean, she wrapped the towels around them and pulled him back into the bedroom. He went to get his clothes out of the dresser, but she stepped in front of him. She guided him to the bed until he fell down on it. She pushed him to let him know to scoot up before climbing in top of him. He went to object, but she put a finger over his mouth and shushed him. She untucked her towels and threw it to the floor before she untucked his and pulled it out from under him to join the other one. Then she bent down to kiss him while grinding slowly on him. It didn't take long for him to respond and she lifted her body enough to reach down and guide him into her. He let out a hiss when he felt her glide down on him and he looked at her.

He went to ask her why she wasn't using protection, but she covered his mouth with another kiss. When she felt herself getting close, she picked up her pace until came. She slowed back down so she could reach down and pull him up to her. He started thrusting from under her and she picked up her speed again. When she was close, he reached down and rubbed her clit and she came with her legs trembling. He felt her shudder as she clamped down on him again and he pushed a couple more times to find his own release. After rocking though the aftershocks, she pulled them both down on their sides with him still inside of her, before pulling him over on top of her.

_"Don't stop. Just please don't stop." _She whispered against his neck. He didn't know what she was thinking and started to worry. When he went to speak, she spoke up to cut him off. _"I just want to feel you tonight. I almost lost you. Just let me have you tonight." _

_"What if…" _he began, but she cut him off again.

_"Please." _

_"Whatever you want love." _He replied with a thrust. She pushed some energy to him so he would feel better and they could continue. She knew it worked because he started driving into her without holding back. It was almost painful, but she loved every second of it. She lost count of her orgasms as they continued on throughout the rest of the night. They didn't stop until dawn when they were both too tired to move anymore.

When they made it out of bed the next morning, Klaus ran off to the bathroom for a shower while Caroline stayed in bed. It was a good thing she didn't move because she felt a vision coming to her. When she looked around, she saw herself standing in the bathroom looking down with a smile on her face. She looked and saw a positive pregnancy test before the vision of her moved to where Caroline was taking the test and hiding it in a piece of toilet paper underneath the sink. She had moved the board under there and placed it in while pulling out her recent negative test and wetting it with water and walking out of the bathroom. She had given it to Klaus and watched as his face fell and he said they might have better luck the next time. The vision blurred to the battle they were waiting on. She watched herself collapse and Klaus run to her. She saw that he was shaking her trying to get her to wake up when he noticed her color improving. She saw him read her and smile while looking up at her face and putting his hands over her to heal her further. She saw herself gasp and come awake. The scene forwarded again to show them sitting in the delivery room holding a newborn baby boy and them smiling. The scene forwarded again and to them watching the doctors leave and them reading the child to look for abilities. The one that stood out to Caroline was the healing ability. Then the vision ended and she sat up. She made a mental note to go by the store and get some tests that day while Klaus left to talk to the designer. The house was built, but after some minor problems and scheduling delays, they were finally about to finish it. She knew what she had to do for everyone she loved and herself to survive; she just didn't like that she couldn't tell Klaus.

When Klaus left, she ran to her car and drove to the store. After she made her purchases, she drove back home and started peeing in the cup. She lined them all up and made sure they were negative before she wrapped them all together and leaned down to make the board under the sink loose. She put them all under there in case he decided to make her take a bunch instead of just one. Then she tore up all the test boxes and threw them away. She took the trash out to the road and put it in the can. She was thankful that the trash would be running that day to dispose of the evidence. Directly after the trash ran, Klaus came back home with a frown on his face.

_"What's wrong?" _She asked?

_"The woman doing the designing ordered the wrong stuff and to fix everything, it will take until the first of July. I'm sorry love, I was hoping we would have it done in time for the battle."_

_"That's not all, is it?"_

_"No, I also stopped by the doctor. Kol made the remark that I could be the problem in you not getting pregnant, so I thought I'd check it out. The doctor said nothing was wrong with me. If nothing is wrong with you and nothing is wrong with me, then what's the problem?"_

_"Klaus, it's probably the timing. It took 6 months for me and Tyler to get pregnant and you saw the book from that. I mean we tried constantly. We hardly ever go without protection, so maybe that's what it is. Do you really think we should be trying right now anyway? I mean the battle is next month and you're already worried about me as it is. How bad would you worry if I was pregnant?"_

_"You're right. It's just a little frustrating to wonder whether or not I'm going to get you pregnant each time we don't use protection. And after the last couple days… I'll be surprised if I didn't manage to knock you up."_

_"I guess we'll know next month." _She said as she silently put a block on herself that would last until after the battle. She didn't want him to accidently find out by reading her.

_"I guess we will love." _He replied with a smirk as he headed to the kitchen. She let out a silent sigh as she thought about the next two months. She then got a thought and decided to call Elena for information.

_"Hello?"_

_"Hey Elena, I was wondering if it's been decided when the fair is going to start."_

_"It's always the last week in June, you know that."_

_"I know, but I was wondering if it was changed or anything. I have a theory and I wanted to check it out. Will you let me know if anything changes?"_

_"Sure. How are you doing today?"_

_"I'm doing good. How is everybody doing over there?"_

_"Everyone is tired, but they're okay. Is Klaus doing better? Damon said he got it pretty rough last night."_

_"He's doing better. He's getting something to eat right now. I'm going to go check out some more things real fast. Tell Stefan and Damon that I'll call them when I figure this all out."_

_"Okay I will. Be careful and I'll talk to you later."_

_"Bye Elena."_

_"Bye Caroline." _Caroline heard before she hung up. Klaus had been watching the last part of her phone conversation and saw her narrow her eyes in thought.

_"Something on your mind love?"_

_"Yea. The fair is the last week in June and the Summer Solstice is June 21__st__. It can't be a coincidence that the battle is supposed to happen then."_

_"I think you're on to something there sweetheart."_

_"Okay so the solstice is the 21__st__ and the fair starts the 23__rd__. That leaves one day between the two dates. We just had Beltane and they attacked the day after. If they attack the day after the solstice, it would explain why everyone is there and we're all in town; plus why the flags and flyers are everywhere. That's got to be the day."_

_"I think you're right. I'll text Stefan and have him and Damon come here and let you explain it."_

_"Okay. I'm going to get something to eat since you already ate. Or you could hold off a few minutes from calling them and let me make your day better." _She said a sly smile. He looked at the phone and then at her before tossing the phone down and throwing her over his shoulder. Klaus realized they were out of condoms, and tried to stop things from progressing, but she distracted him enough to get him to stay. 2 hours later, they made their way back down stairs and she went to get her something to eat from the kitchen. Klaus called Stefan and told him that he and Damon needed to come over. After hanging up, Klaus walked into the kitchen to find Caroline eating a sandwich and a bowl of soup. She looked up when he entered and smiled while chewing.

_"You're a little vixen, you know. We just talked about using protection for a little while longer and when we see that we're out, you don't let me stop. It's very confusing."_

_"I'm not worried about it. I mean, it will happen when it happens so there's no point in stressing over it. We don't have long until we can actually start living life, so until then we just have to be as careful as we can be. We won't always have condoms and after Beltane, I'm not worried about one round."_

_"Yes that was quite the night wasn't love?"_

_"I think we both enjoyed ourselves very much."_

_"Oh I know we did. It may explain why you haven't stopped since then."_

_"It just feels right. So, are you going to pick more condoms up tonight or are you going to leave it chance?"_

_"If I pick them up, are you going to let me use them?"_

_"Yes, unless we just lose ourselves."_

_"Then I'll pick some up, but I don't believe that you'll let me use them after the last couple days. I think you got used to not using one and don't want to use them again."_

_"Is it a crime to like sex without condoms?"_

_"Not at all love, but I just want to be sure you're safe next month."_

_"I already told you that I'll be fine. And if destiny decided it was time, no amount of birth control in the world would stop it. If destiny decides it's not time, then you see more negative signs."_

_"So are you suggesting that I not make a trip to the store then?"_

_"I'm saying that I'll leave it up to you."_

_"I don't know what I should do. I'm being pulled in two different directions sweetheart."_

_"I know that, and so am I. A huge part of me doesn't want to see your face fall every time you see that negative sign, but another part me doesn't want to put an unborn child in the middle of this battle. I'm leaving this up to fate. I've fought against destiny in every life before giving in. I've never been this close. We have an actual shot this time by not fighting what fate has planned."_

_"I'm sorry sweetheart. I know that everything is different this time. That's what scares me. You've never made it this far, so you have nothing to go off of from experience or for help."_

_"I saw something this morning, okay. I still can't tell you what it is, but I can tell you that we will both be alive at the end of this. The scenery was set later in the year; way past the battle next month."_

_"I wish you could tell me what it is that I do to help you."_

_"You realize what it is after I fall. You run to me and help me. That's all I can say."_

_"Then I guess I should stop stressing you out over it. I don't think I'm going to make that trip to the store."_

_"Okay. The guys should be here soon, so let's get back on subject. I have to look at everything."_

_"Okay, so what's the battle plan?"_

_"You saw the fight. You know what we got to do. I meant that we should think back to all the little details that you didn't focus on before." _She said with another smirk. He gave her a teasing growl before standing up to chase her. He caught her before she got out of the kitchen and pushed her against the wall. He crushed his lips to hers and was about to lift her off the ground when they heard the doorbell. They both growled before laughing and making their way to the door.

Damon and Stefan both noticed how flushed Klaus and Caroline looked, but kept quiet. They walked inside and everyone sat the kitchen table to discuss the battle theory. When Caroline mentioned her theory Stefan and Damon agreed with her. They all sat down and tried to figure out what they would all be doing in town at that time of night. Caroline told them that it could have been like the last battle and they not realize until it was happening. They all agreed and moved on to finalizing how the events happen. They needed to keep everything in the order it was in the vision. Damon offered to help Klaus improve his healing ability, and he agreed; he wanted to make sure he did everything possible when the time came. When everything had been gone over, Stefan and Damon left. Caroline was about to start making dinner when Klaus wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her until they close to the wall, and then he turned and pushed her against it.

_"How about we finish what we started before we were interrupted?" _He asked with a smirk. She nodded and pulled his face to hers. Klaus ripped her shirt and bra off of her before bending and pulling her jeans and panties down. She pushed his shirt up and off while he was undoing his pants. He let his shirt fall from his arms when he pushed his pants down. Then he lifted her off the ground and pushed her against the wall again before thrusting into her. She cried out from the sudden intrusion and held on to him tightly. He didn't let up until he felt her release around him, and then he moved them to the table, swiping everything off with his arm and laying her back. He lifted her legs to put her ankles next to his neck. He never pulled out of her the whole time, but teased that he would before pulling on her hips and thrusting into her harder. She tried to brace herself using the table, but her hands kept slipping. He saw her struggle and moved his hands to grip her shoulders and pull her into him. The new angle had her crying out with every thrust. Klaus was grunting and groaning with her as he felt her tightening again. He made his thrust harder and she screamed her release. He released with her calling out her name. He let her legs fall to his sides as he pulled her up to wrap their arms around each other, giving soft thrusts to carry them through their orgasms. When he pulled out of her, she slid of the table and sat in the chair to catch her breath. He picked up their clothes and handed her hers. After getting dressed, Klaus picked up the mess he had made from the floor and she cleaned the table. Neither of them felt like cooking dinner anymore and called to order pizza. They sat on the couch and ate their dinner while watching TV for the rest of the night.


	25. Chapter 25

**7 Weeks Later**

Caroline was starting to get antsy as the date for the battle was drawing closer. Klaus hadn't been much help with her nerves as he was worried about her missing her period for over 3 weeks. She knew what he was going to do before he even left that day. She noticed the clothes they were wearing and knew that he would be back soon with a test. When he got back, he handed her the box. She looked at it, thankful she had one that looked like it that read negative. She didn't need him to know yet. She felt bad that she couldn't share the news with him, but knew it had to be done. She went into the bathroom and peed on the stick. She placed it on the counter and reached under the sink to pull out the duplicate stick. She pulled it out and set it on the other side of the counter while she waited for the ding on her phone. When she picked up the test, she smiled at the positive sign before wrapping it up in toilet paper and putting it under the board. She composed herself and walked out of the bathroom. Everything was just like the vision, except he tried to not show his disappointment as much as before. Caroline pulled him into her and hugged him. When she pulled back, she was going to walk downstairs, but he pulled her back and walked them to the bed.

_"We don't have long left before the battle. I just want to spend as much time as I can with you. The packing can wait one more day." _He insisted as he laid them down and cuddled with her in the bed. They stared at each for a long time before he leaned forward and kissed her softly. Soon after their hands were everywhere at once as they felt like they couldn't get close enough. Klaus quickly took their clothes off of them and leaned down to take her with his tongue. She hadn't been expecting that and she cried out. She felt herself tightening and he hadn't even inserted his fingers. She was nearly there when she felt him push 2 fingers in, and she came hard. He used his fingers to finish her orgasm as he licked up her juices. He pulled his fingers out and sucked on them while looking at her. He saw her shudder with desire and crawled back up her body. He bent his head to kiss her as he pushed into her slowly. She moaned into his mouth as he repeated his slow thrust. He kept his thrust slow, but deep as he kept his hand against her cheek and his forehead pressed against hers. His eyes never left hers; in that moment it was only them. When they felt the build-up he picked his pace up just a tiny bit until he felt her tighten around him and they released together. They stayed still for a few minutes looking at each other until he finally looked at every part of her face and speaking. _"I love you Caroline. When we get through this battle, I'm going to carry you over the threshold of our new home and you'll not leave our bed until we make a new addition." _He finished with a smile and she laughed.

_"I'll hold you to that." _She said with a smile, knowing it was a moot point. They had one week left before all hell would break loose and they would be setting the stage for the future. She knew she had to do this for everyone she loved and for everyone that they had ever lost.

_"Now that I've established that you aren't going anywhere today, what do you want to eat?" _He asked with a teasing smile. He didn't know that she had already picked up cravings and was ready to inflict pain on someone for a serving of lasagna with a chocolate milkshake.

_"How about we have pasta and milkshakes? Do you know how to make lasagna?"_

_"Not really love."_

_"Well if I was allowed to leave the bed, I could show you."_

_"Fine; you can leave the bed, but only because I don't know how to make what you're wanting." _He said, giving in to her with a smile and rolling off of her. She jumped up and put on her pajamas since she wasn't going anywhere. After they dressed and she pulled her hair up, they went downstairs and pulled out all the ingredients they would need to make dinner. After explaining how everything was put together, Klaus started frying the hamburger and boiling the noodles while Caroline started cutting up the cream cheese into little squares. When the hamburger was done, they drained it and poured it into a bowl with sauce and cottage cheese. Then she had him drain the noodles and lay them out next to the pan. She showed him how she layered everything before he took over and she pulled the garlic bread out of the freezer to put them on a baking sheet and setting them on stove to wait. Then they pulled out the blender and materials to make milkshakes.

_"How much chocolate do you want in your milkshake?"_

_"I like mine really sweet love. I don't think you'd like it."_

_"I think I can handle it." _She said as she twisted the top off to pour the syrup into the blender on top of the chocolate ice cream and white milk. Then she pulled the whipped cream out of the fridge to have it ready. She watched as everything mixed together, making her mouth water. She was doing very well at hiding how much she was craving different foods, but she didn't want to press her luck. She had already almost got caught when she had a round of morning sickness. It had been a good thing that she was in the shower when it hit and the water had washed it away before Klaus had come in. She was glad she only had a week before he would know and she wouldn't have to go through it alone. She noticed that everything was mixed in the blender and poured the contents into two tall glasses. Then she sprayed the whipped cream on top and streamed some chocolate syrup on top of that. She started looking for their straws, but when she couldn't find them she turned to see Klaus staring at her again while holding the straws. She reached out and took them before putting them down into the drinks.

_"There something off with you. I've not seen you want so much sugar and you forgot I was holding the straws."_

_"We have the last battle coming up I a week and I have a lot on my mind with it and the house, and everything else. Trust me when I say I need my sugar fix to get through the days before. I'll be back to my normal health nut self before you know it." _She said trying to keep her cover story up. She quickly checked to make sure she was still blocking and reinforcing it. She didn't need any leaks; especially that close to the final event.

_"I guess you're right sweetheart. I've been eating more sugary stuff since Damon started training me, so it makes sense."_

_"It doesn't last long so it's best to eat things with carbs in it to last longer. The sugar will give you little busts of energy here and there, but carbs will let you keep it longer; hence we're eating lasagna with chocolate milkshakes."_

_"Are we expecting to use a lot of energy today sweetheart?" _He said with a smirk

_"Don't even start that again until we eat. If you do, we won't leave the bed and the food will burn." _She scolded with a smile.

_"I'm surprised you aren't pregnant with the way you've been lately. You've been acting like Rebekah for the last week."_

_"I resent that." _She said with a laugh. _"I've been around her, Elena, Katherine, and Bonnie helping plan for their baby showers. Maybe they're rubbing off on me a little bit, but I will never be as bad as your sister; she nearly hit the waiter with the tray because he didn't hand her food to her first." _She said laughing. He rolled his eyes and laughed with her.

_"Oh sweetheart, I have a feeling you'll put Rebekah to shame."_

_"That is not funny."_

_"Oh come on love I'm just teasing you. I have no doubt that you will still be perfect to me." _He finished looking at her in adoration. She set her milkshake down and went to hug him. They finished their milkshakes a few minutes later and waited for the lasagna to finish. When it was done, Klaus pulled it out and held it while she stuck the garlic bread in. The lasagna took up the left side of the stove and she used a spatula to cut it into sections. When the garlic bread was done, they grabbed some drinks and put them on the table while Klaus reached up and grabbed the plates. She dipped out their servings and he put the garlic bread on the plate and they took their seats. Klaus finished first and cleaned up his plate. Then he wrapped up the leftovers and put them in the fridge before sitting back down with Caroline. He noticed her starting to chew slower and she stopped for a minute. She looked like she was deep in thought so he told her he would go run a bath for them and left the kitchen. Caroline felt like she was going to be sick and went out the kitchen door when she heard him upstairs. She barely made it around the side of the house before she puked behind a bush. After spitting, she ran back inside and scraped the rest of her plate into the trash and drank down some water. She picked up her soda from the table and took a drink to finish getting the taste out of her mouth before loading up the dishwasher. She made a mental note to start it later and made her way upstairs.

Klaus saw her come into the bathroom looking pale and asked if she was alright. She told him that she thought she ate too much as she stripped down and followed him into the tub. He massaged her back to make her feel better and she nearly fell asleep in the tub. He told her she should get some rest before they stood and got out of the tub. After drying themselves and getting their clothes on, Klaus led Caroline back into the bedroom and lay down with her. She fell asleep quickly and Klaus held her until he fell asleep later.


	26. Chapter 26

**Final Battle**

The week passed quickly for Klaus and Caroline, except for when Caroline tried to hide her symptoms from Klaus. She was a little frustrated with how observant he was of her the last couple weeks. She didn't say anything to him though; every time he asked what was wrong she would say it was her nerves for the battle. As the sun was setting, Caroline had the same feeling she had felt when she woke up alone and everyone had been attacked. She started pacing until the phone rang. She froze at looked at Klaus. He looked back at her and watched as she darted to it to check the caller ID.

_"It's Kol."_

_"Let me answer it." _He said as she handed him the phone. He took it from her and answered it quickly while putting it on speaker and she picked up her phone.

_"Hello?"_

_"Hey Nik, can you do me a favor?"_

_"What is it little brother?"_

_"My car broke down and I've got Lena with me. The tow truck is on the way, but I don't want to have to call a cab. Could one of you come pick me up?"_

_"Sure. Caroline isn't feeling well, so I'll come get you. Where are you at?"_

_"I'm at the grill."_

_"Okay, just sit still and I'll be there in a few."_

_"Thanks Nik. I'll see you in a few." _They heard before he ended the call and looked up at her.

_"I'm going with you. Come on and I'll call everyone on the way."_

_"Was that Kol or someone using him?"_

_"I don't know. You're going to drop me off a block away and check. You'll see if it's him or not. When you drop me off I'll call you and you keep the call on. What word do you want to use to signal for help?"_

_"How about I say that I'm going to have to stop and pick us up some champagne before I take them home?"_

_"How is that believable?"_

_"Because it's nearly 7 months ago that we met. I can say that you keep mentioning it and I wanted to celebrate with you."_

_"Will he believe it?"_

_"He should, but we're talking about if I need help. If it comes to that, I don't think it will matter if he believes me or not."_

_"You're right, sorry; my mind is running away with me again. Let's go." _She said as she called Stefan's phone. She found out that they were already in town watching for everything and that the girls were in the bookstore with Katherine and Elijah. Damon was on the other side of the square from Stefan. She told him what was happening and for him to let Damon know. Klaus dropped her off and waited on her to call his phone before pulling off and pocketing it. Klaus pulled up at the grill and saw Kol standing inside. He saw the shadows swaying around him and bent down to pretend to grab something while he told Caroline that Kol wasn't Kol at the moment. She kept the call on and texted Stefan to relay the message. She went to run to Klaus when she heard a noise behind her. She didn't see anything until she looked up. She heard the sounds of struggling on her phone and started running. She ran up to the grill but didn't see any of them, so she started looking around. She looked up to see the darkness looming over the town and people starting to duck inside the buildings. She looked up again to get a direction and followed them. Everything was playing out from the vision again and as she rounded the corner going towards the bookstore, she saw everyone huddled under the protection ward like in the vision.

He ran forward while calling up her powers and sent a surge towards them enough to knock them off the barrier. Klaus looked towards her and she nodded before running down the side alley and out onto another street. She knew the figures were following her, but she needed to get a little further. She cut across the street and found the place she had been in during the vision and stopped. She closed her eyes and pulled her powers up more to put a barrier over the whole town. When she opened her eyes, she saw the darkness swarming everywhere at once and trying to break the barrier. She called on every power and god she knew before chanting and pushing light out everywhere at once. She heard Klaus running to try and catch up to her and used the rest of her energy to push out so much light that she had to close her eyes to keep from going blind. She heard the screeching of the figures and the growling of the darkness and pushed as hard as she could. She felt herself getting dizzy and her strength waning, but she didn't give up. She was determined for all of this to be over with for good and held on. When she heard nothing but silence, she pulled the light back into her. She looked around and saw the ashes from the figures before her eyes fell on Klaus. She quickly unblocked herself and the baby from being read and collapsed.

Klaus saw her fall to the ground and yelled for her. He stood and ran to her hoping she was right when she told him that she would live. He started shaking her shoulders and pleading with her to wake up. She was deathly pale and her eyes looked like they had sunken into her head a little. He checked her pulse and breathing and noticed that her color was slowly coming back. He couldn't figure out why it was happening; he knew he wasn't doing anything and she couldn't while passed out, so he set out to read her and find how to fix her. While reading her, he stopped noticing that it wasn't just her life he was looking at; he felt the baby's energy mixed with hers. He looked up and smiled before placing his hands on her chest and sending her energy and willing her to wake up. When he felt her jerk and heard her gasp, he opened his eyes and pulled her to him. He sat her in his lap and rocked with her while kissing her forehead. They heard footsteps coming and Klaus turned his head to see everybody headed their way. Stefan and Damon reached them first and broke out in smiles when they saw her alive and awake. They sat down in front of Klaus and Caroline and motioned for their girls to come sit on their lap too. The girls were crying through their smiles when they saw she was okay and sat on the guys' laps. Elijah and Katherine were looking around wondering what had happened, just like Bonnie, Jeremy, Kol, and Lena. Klaus asked everyone to follow them to the bookstore and everything would be explained.

When everyone was in the bookstore, they separated into two groups; the supernatural and the normal. Stefan decided to be the first one to speak while Caroline was chugging down juice.

_"Okay I know you guys have questions, but hear me out. We'll try to explain everything and then if you still have questions, you can ask them. Okay first off; me, Damon, and Caroline were born witches. We're half-blood withes, but some of the strongest there are. Caroline is the strongest witch alive. I'll explain that part in a minute. We're all connected in this and I'll explain that after I tell you Caroline's story. Our duty a witches is to protect our world and the people in it from darkness and the creatures that thrive on it. What you saw outside was the last battle that has been planned for centuries. It's all over and we won't have to fight it anymore. We tried to keep all of you out of it, but it got harder the closer we came to tonight. We've known about this battle for a while now, but we didn't know how it would start or how to keep you guys out of it. This has happened before and our side has always fallen in battle. We knew things were different this time, but we didn't know how much until tonight. The elements of darkness won't be able to come back anymore. It took Caroline being reborn multiple times and dying before she managed to destroy it this time." _Stefan said as he grabbed himself a juice and took a drink before continuing.

_"Now I have to tell you her story from the beginning of it all. In her first life, she was immortal with the powers of a goddess. It came from being born of one. She was given the task of protecting our world and teaching others how to tap into the energy around us. It's how us witches were created. After decades of doing her duty, she fell in love with a mortal. It was forbidden for mortals and immortals to be together, so she did the only thing she felt she could to be with him; she gave up her immortality. She kept her powers, but they were limited as a mortal, and when the war began she fought as hard as she could to protect the people. After realizing the city would fall, she ran to find her lover and saw him locked in his own battle with a creature. She ran to him, but caught him off guard and he shoved his sword through her. Realizing what he had done, he pulled away from battle, taking her with him. They only had a few moments together before the enemy made it to them. They killed her lover in front of her as she died. When she woke up in the afterlife, her mother found her and told her that she would have to repeat the battles over and over through every life until she defeated the darkness and managed to keep her and her lover alive. You see, her lover didn't have soul mate made for him yet, but when she gave her immortality up for him, it created the bond. They became soul mates and he has ended her life during battle through every life until this one. Klaus is her soul mate. After learning that he was, she tried to keep it hidden so they wouldn't fall prey to what they had in previous lives. Well I got nosey and went into her mind, taking Klaus with me. We learned the truth that night and were given a vision of a battle we hadn't been in yet. We fought it back in May, before anyone asks, so carrying on… a couple weeks after we discovered that they were mate, Caroline came back to town after trying to organize other covens in case we needed their help. They agreed to complete the bond, but they both wanted to wait until it was a better time for them and try to get to know each other. That's when you all saw them spending time together and him pretty much harassing her for a date. Not long after that, I got a text from Katherine about the love birds hooking up in the bookstore and tried to intervene. Caroline wasn't supposed to go against the order of things because it could have backfired and turned the covens against each other. So, to fix everything, they did the binding later that day in a handfasting ceremony, which is the equivalent of marriage in our beliefs. Since then, she's gotten stronger and her health problems have almost disappeared. Klaus has developed some abilities since the binding as well. Furthermore, the night Caroline came back and agreed to do the binding, she bound me to Rebekah and Damon to Elena. We all needed to be ready for the battle tonight if we had any chance to survive. If any of us had fallen, our mate would have fallen soon after. It's also why Rebekah and Elena got pregnant at the same time. Part of the binding ceremony is consummation and during that we're not allowed to use any form of birth control. The only one of us that managed to not create a child in their binding Klaus and Caroline. We don't know why that didn't happen, but we assumed it was because destiny wanted to wait for a specific time. We know more too. Elijah, Kat, you two are mates and that's why you conceived while using birth control. Fate wanted you two to bring that life into the world. Bonnie, Jeremy, both of you are mates as well. Lastly, Kol and Lena are mates. Everyone is this room is connected in some way. This was supposed to happen." _He finished as he sat down and watched while everyone processed what they had been told.

_"Every one of you is either family or my friend and this new does not alter my perceptions of you. In fact, a lot of things now have a reason behind them that makes sense. Looking at all of you, I'm truly amazed at what you have persevered to reach the point where you can finally be at peace." _Elijah spoke up first. Katherine squeezed his hand before deciding to speak next.

_"I agree with Elijah. I thought things moved fast with Care and Klaus, but I didn't say anything because I hadn't seen her so happy in a long time. I know everyone thought she got married because she was pregnant, but I knew she wasn't. I knew she married him because it was right for her. Care, you'll always be my sister. Everyone else, I see you no differently than I did the last time I saw you. You're still the same people we knew before, but now we know that you're so much more. Me and Elijah are staying by your side." _She finished as she sat back down. Bonnie nodded to Jeremy and decided to speak for both of them.

_"Damon, when you offered us those cruise tickets, you offered them to us to get us out of town so we'd be safe didn't you?"_

_"Yes, but that was partly Caroline's idea. It was right after that first vision when Stefan and Klaus decide to sneak into her head. We all had Katherine and Elijah stay at Caroline's house, where there was a protection spell on the house, while Elena, Rebekah, and Klaus stayed with us at the boarding house for the same reason. She couldn't protect everybody and leave to inform the other covens at the same time so we all hatched the plan and went through with it."_

_"So you guys have been protecting us this whole time?"_

_"As much as we could. We knew you would be safer away from everything than us trying to stick with you all of the time."_

_"Me and Jeremy agree with Katherine and Elijah. You guys are still family; more now than ever. What's going to happen now that you guys won the battle?" _She asked nervously.

_"Well don't all stories end in happily ever after? We won't have any more battles to fight, but people will still have powers. More people will develop them now and in future generation, but it won't be much unless it comes from a strong line like any of ours. When Klaus and Caroline finally decide to grace us with children of our own, they'll be important in the future. They'll keep the peace in the world and pass it on the future generations to do the same. Consider them witch royalty." _Damon finished and Klaus and Caroline exchanged a look and Caroline shook her head.

_"Okay, so none of you are leaving, right?"_

_"None of us have plans to leave. This is our home; we fought for it and now we want to remain here to enjoy it." _Stefan answered. Bonnie nodded and took her seat. That's when Kol stepped forward with Lena.

_"Caroline, the day I met you, you did something to me to make me better, didn't you?"_

_"Yes and your brother helped me."_

_"You set me up at the cabin so I could be protected, didn't you."_

_"Well I was hoping it would work, but I guess it didn't since you were the one used to draw us out."_

_"We were next door at her house. Your cabin is protected, but Lena's isn't. That's why it didn't work, isn't it?"_

_"Kol it's not your fault. You didn't know what was going on. We honestly didn't think they would go after you, but I felt something near your apartment and we had to get you out of there. Lena is welcome to stay at the cabin with you any time she wants, and if you decide you still want to stay at my house when we move, then you both are welcome there."_

_"One more question. How can you tell who's mates is who?"_

_"When mates find each other, strong witches can see a link that connects them. It gets more vivid the more they're around each other. Once they're bound, it's bright and their auras merge together. We can see your link and know you're unbound mates because your auras aren't merged."_

_"That's so cool." _Kol relied with a boyish smirk. He turned to Lena, who was still looking nervous. She looked at Caroline before she spoke.

_"It's going to take me a while to understand this before I can even accept it. I know you aren't lying because I saw everything myself. Can you promise me that all the bad is over?"_

_"As far as fighting the forces of darkness or evil goes, then yes I can. However, we can't promise that all of life's hardships are over. You still have to face normal situations like jobs, aging, and death. You two have your own destiny and without you being bound and then read, I couldn't tell you what it is. I couldn't tell you anything anyway. We're not allowed to know everything. When I get a vision, I have to fill in the missing pieces and look at my surroundings to find the smallest detail that could make a difference. When I figured out the key to winning this battle, I couldn't say anything to anyone. I had to let it happen as the vision showed me. It hurt like hell not being able to say what I knew, knowing it could give hope when everybody was in doubt."_

_"I really like Kol and I want us to continue as we have been, so I won't say anything or cause trouble. Over time, maybe we could talk more and you can help me understand this."_

_"You can come to any of us and we'll help you the best we can." _She replied as Kol and Lena went to sit back down. Stefan stood back up to finish the meeting.

_"Okay, I know it's been a long night and some of us are ready to find a bed and not leave for a few days, but does anyone have any more questions before we separate?"_

_"I have a question." _Katherine said as she looked at Caroline. _"What helped you win tonight? You said you couldn't say what it was then. Can you now?"_

_"I can, and I need to explain it anyway." _She said as she looked to Klaus and smiled before she kissed him. He reached to hold her hand as she turned to look at everyone before settling on Katherine. _"When I got the vision of tonight, Klaus got pulled in with me. He focused on the main scene while I took in everything. I saw the flags and flyers for the fair this week, I saw what everyone was wearing, and where everything would happen. When I focused on myself, I saw something towards the end that caught my attention. When we came out of it, Klaus was still focusing on the fact that I collapsed that he didn't see what I saw looking at myself. I didn't say anything because I wanted to be sure. Not long after that, I got another vision while Klaus was taking a shower; which was nature's way of saying that only I needed to know it. I saw myself standing in the bathroom looking at something before hiding it and using a decoy. Klaus knows what I'm talking about by now, but I want to finish and see if everybody can come to the same conclusion. The vision fast forwarded to tonight when I saw myself fall. Once again, I took notice of what my suspicions were and they were confirmed. I saw myself healing before Klaus finished the job. Beltane came along and I knew what was going to happen before it did, so I accepted it. I probably overdid things a bit, but by then I couldn't change anything, so it didn't really have any consequences other than leaving Klaus and I completely out of energy. We made it through the first battle right after that, and everybody there saw a difference in me. I couldn't say why, but it still drove me crazy to see everyone looking at me afraid of what I was capable of. I wouldn't ever hurt anyone, but the fact that I could gives people a reason to fear me. Over the next few weeks, I started having more difficulty hiding what I knew when it started taking on a whole new level. Last week was the closest call I had with Klaus finding out. He was right on the spot when we were talking and I had to keep changing the subject or make excuses to get him to stop. I couldn't risk that information leaking out. If even one of those figures or one shred of darkness found it out, everything could change, so kept it to myself and blocked myself from being read by others. I unblocked myself right before I collapsed tonight. When Klaus went to heal me, he figured it out." _She finished and looked around again giving a sly smile. Everybody looked at her confused until Damon started laughing and rolling in the floor. Klaus gave a small laugh before he answered for everyone.

_"She's pregnant. Obviously, she wasn't supposed to reveal it until tonight. She wasn't healing herself when I got to her. Our child was healing from inside. When I noticed, I finished the process and woke her up." _He explained as the room was filled with a mixture of laughing, gasps, crying, hugging, and people saying 'oh my god' before congratulating them. When Katherine asked her how far along she was, she did the math quickly and said 8 weeks. Elena made the remark on how she was now a part of club prego before laughing like crazy. Caroline only rolled her eyes at the joke and went back to Klaus. After everybody calmed down, they went their separate ways for the night. Klaus and Caroline drove home and she prepared herself for the talk she figured she would get when they arrived. When they made it in the door, he scooped her up and carried her upstairs to the bedroom. They quickly changed into their nightclothes and crawled into bed.

_"Okay, let me hear it."_

_"Let you hear what love?"_

_"Whatever you want to say."_

_"I know why you couldn't tell me love. I'm not mad at you. Right now I'm happy that you're safe and alive, and so is our child. I do want to know where the real test you took is though."_

_"It's under a board under the sink in the bathroom; along with a bunch of negative ones. I couldn't remember which test you got me, so I had to buy them all just in case."_

_"Well tomorrow I want you to pull it out from under there so I can finally see it. Then we're going to go to the doctor and let them give you a check-up to make sure everything is normal and get you started on a schedule with them. Since it's the first visit, we get an ultrasound picture and I want a copy to show off."_

_"I'm glad you're taking this so well. I've had to hide my food cravings and throwing up the last couple weeks so I could keep everybody safe. I'm glad to know it was worth it; especially after the milkshake and lasagna incident. I wanted them both so badly, but when I got them I had to run outside while you were drawing a bath. That was awful. I don't think I'll be able to look at those again."_

_"Well that settles what else we're going to do tomorrow. We'll have the doctor write you a prescription to keep you from getting sick and you're going to write down everything you crave so I can keep it stocked in the house."_

_"I'm pretty sure the morning sickness will pass soon. Besides, I'm resistant to medicine. I can look up some herbs that will help me better than they can."_

_"I forgot about that. When you find what will work, I'll pick it up for you. I'm sure Stefan and Damon probably already know and have it stockpiled, unless Rebekah and Elena can use medicine."_

_"Whether they can or not, the guys probably stocked it just in case. We'll call them tomorrow. I've been so tired lately and all I want to do right now is sleep."_

_"Alright sweetheart, we'll deal with the world tomorrow. Tonight, I want to you to go to sleep knowing that everything is fine, we're happy, I love you, and soon we'll have everything we could ever want."_

_"I love you too. Goodnight." _She said softly as she laid her head against his chest and fell right to sleep. Klaus breathed in relief that everything turned out fine and all of the danger had passed. He closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep with her still tucked into him.


	27. Chapter 27

**Morning**

Klaus woke up by himself and quickly looked around for Caroline. He didn't see her upstairs, so he walked downstairs. He saw her in the kitchen placing her food down and running to the back door. He followed and reached her just in the time pull her hair back. He was rubbing her back until she stopped.

_"Are you okay sweetheart?"_

_"Yea I just learned that as much as something sounds good it doesn't mean that it is good."_

_"How often do you get sick like this?"_

_"A couple times a day."_

_"I still don't know how you kept this from me."_

_"We there's the shower, running outside while you're busy, or you've been gone to do something."_

_"Well I know now love, so let's get you back inside. I'll call Stefan and see what they have." _He spoke and she nodded. They made their way back inside and he pulled out his phone to call Stefan while getting her a glass of water. She was sipping her water as he kept searching the cupboards looking for crackers. Finally Stefan answered him as he found and grabbed the crackers.

_"Hello?"_

_"Stefan mate, please tell me you guys have some herbs that will help with morning sickness?"_

_"Damon has them; Elena resisted medicine when she had morning sickness. Rebekah was lucky when it came to regular medicine. At this rate, morning sickness isn't what I'm worried about for Elena and Caroline."_

_"Don't say something like that mate. What's going on?"_

_"Think about it… Elena is picking up on the resistance from the baby and Caroline has always been resistant. When it's time for delivery, are they even going to be able to have an epidural? What if they have to have a C-section?"_

_"Isn't there something we can do about that?"_

_"Other than being in the room with the girls and keeping contact to send relief and help with healing, then no. If they end up getting a C-section, only one of you will be allowed in there, if any."_

_"I do not like the sounds of that mate. Why am I just now hearing about this?"_

_"Because the doctor is concerned that Elena's baby is still in the breached position. If the baby doesn't turn by her 39__th__ week, they are going to schedule the surgery. Caroline should be fine. She isn't far enough along to have to worry about that right now, but it's something to remember."_

_"Is there any way to get the baby to turn?"_

_"Damon or Caroline would be the only ones that could. You're good, but I don't know if you could do that kind of work. You would have to be able to connect with two people at once."_

_"I connected to Caroline and the baby last time when I healed her."_

_"Yes but you were under duress because it was Caroline. You can't guarantee that you could do it again. Just bring Caroline over with you when you come to get the herbs and we'll talk about it. Bonnie and Katherine will go first since they're further along, but they could go at the same time. If they become overdue we have a chance to see all of them go into labor at once. I doubt that possibility because Bonnie is having twins, and those usually don't make it to full term before delivery."_

_"I'll bring her over and we'll see about Elena while we're there. Caroline might have an idea or know something we don't."_

_"Maybe. We have to stop at the doctor before we come over. I want to make sure she's okay before after everything happened."_

_"Haven't you read her?"_

_"Yes, but I want to make sure I didn't miss anything and that everything is normal with the pregnancy."_

_"Alright, we'll see you guys later. Text me when you're on your way."_

_"Okay mate. See you guys then." _He said as he hung up and turned around to see Caroline looking at him. He smiled at her, but she gave him a look.

_"What are you guys worried about now?"_

_"You women of course love."_

_"What's wrong?"_

_"Stefan informed me of a couple possible scenarios with you and Elena's pregnancies."_

_"What?"_

_"Apparently, Elena picked up a resistance to medicine from the baby, so she's like you in this. We're worried about the deliveries. Will the epidural work on you two?"_

_"Probably not, but I wasn't planning on getting one anyway."_

_"You really want to feel all of that? Why would you want to?"_

_"It's a natural part of life. It may hurt, but the baby will be worth all the pain that I could feel in the world."_

_"I know you're strong, but I don't want to see you in pain."_

_"Well not only will you have to this time, but apparently there will be two more times after that."_

_"So we're having three?"_

_"In time, yes."_

_"Maybe more, but three is the number of children we will have with abilities. Any others we have will be because we want to."_

_"Damon and I will both be in the room for you and Elena, unless it's a C-section; then only one of us will be allowed."_

_"I can already say that I'm not having a C-section. I saw the delivery room. Trust me when I say I push this kid out."_

_"You've seen the baby?"_

_"Yes. Do you want to know what it will be?"_

_"Yes. I want to get a room ready."_

_"It'll be a boy. He'll have a healing ability and then some."_

_"A boy?"_

_"Yes, a boy."_

_"What will the others be?"_

_"I don't know yet. I haven't seen that far. When I know, I will tell you. I don't have to worry about keeping everything to myself anymore."_

_"Okay. Now let's get you to the doctor."_

_"Okay." _She answered and went upstairs to change. She ended up wearing her yoga pants and a tank top. She was looking for comfort and flexibility. When she got ready she stopped and looked in the mirror. She lifted her shirt and rubbed her stomach. The usual flatness wasn't there; she looked like she was swelled for a period, but she knew it was the beginning of a bump. She smiled and lowered her shirt so she could go back downstairs. Klaus looked at her dressed comfortably and handed her flip flops to her. She smiled and dropped them to the floor, using her feet to wiggle them to where she needed them. Then they headed out the door.

The visit to the doctor's office went about the same as it had the last time they were there, except for the fact that she was pregnant this time. They couldn't stop smiling at the ultrasound that showed the little bean looking thing that was the baby. Klaus kept pestering the technician until she printed off extra copies of the pictures for him. Caroline couldn't stop laughing at him while he was doing it. When they were about to leave, they were looking at the pictures until he picked her up and twirled her around. She nearly screamed for the sudden movement before she felt the nausea return. She made him put her down so she wouldn't throw up. It worked because she was able to hold back until they reached the boarding house. Damon barely had the door open when she pushed him out of the way to run to the downstairs bathroom. Klaus apologized and followed directly after her. When she was done and cleaned back up, Klaus led her back to the others where Damon had a cup of tea waiting on her.

_"Here you go Blondie. This will keep the nausea away for a few hours. I have a bag of herbs that should last a couple weeks. All you have to do is make some regular tea and then dunk the herbs in until they drain into the tea. Elena didn't stop throwing up until last month, so I don't know how long you'll have to use these. I read some women keep the morning sickness the entire pregnancy."_

_"I don't like the sound of that. I barely got out of getting an IV this morning. The doctor said I'm dehydrated. Either it's from throwing up or all of the energy I've had to use lately."_

_"Well the herbs will take care of half of that scenario. As far as energy goes, don't use so much magic and try to stay in bed or sitting down as much as YOU can."_

_"Oh I have no problem sleeping now. I went to bed right after we got home last night and was only up about 30 minutes before he got up."_

_"Looks like we finally found something to calm you down so people don't suspect you're on uppers."_

_"Ha ha Damon. Do you think you can order a lot of this stuff and have it delivered to the new house for me? I'll give you the card number so you don't have to pay for it."_

_"I'll take Klaus with me to the computer so he knows where to order it from and what to get for future reference."_

_"Okay. I'll go read Elena to make sure everything will be fine."_

_"Caroline, I just said not to use that much magic."_

_"I'm not using much. I'm just going to see how the delivery is going to go. Everyone will be better if we know."_

_"Caroline you do that when you feel batter."_

_"I do feel better. I don't feel like I'm going to spew everywhere and I don't feel as drained. I'll just do a quick look."_

_"Fine. Come on Klaus. We'll let Stefan watch her since Rebekah is driving him crazy. They found a house she likes and he keeps telling her it's too big. It's not any bigger or smaller than this one, so I think he's doing it to aggravate her or something." _Damon said as he and Klaus started walking towards the den. Caroline made her way upstairs to where Elena was resting. Caroline didn't want to wake her up, so she placed a hand on her stomach and closed her eyes. She saw everything that would happen in the remainder of the pregnancy. When she opened her eyes and pulled her hand back, she smiled. She walked back down to where the men were on the computer.

_"You might want to add another item to last order. The baby will flip and break her water on the way to her 39__th__ week appointment. You're going to want to get some herbs to keep her calm and to dilute the pain though. The baby is going to be big, so it's going to hurt." _She informed and smiled. Damon quickly went back to clicking on items for the order and Klaus smiled at her. She made her way to the couch and lay down. When Klaus wrote down all of the items and what they were for, plus the website, he went to sit with Caroline. He lifted her feet to let them rest on his legs while he took her shoes off and rubbed her feet.

_"I don't think you helped ease his nerves love." _Klaus said with a laugh.

_"Elena and the baby will be fine. As long as he's prepared, she won't have to go through as much pain during the delivery. Besides, after the baby comes out they will both be too happy to care about the pain. Elena doesn't even notice when she's getting stitches. Once the baby comes out, medicine works on her again and they use a general anesthetic on her."_

_"What happens when you give birth?"_

_"I use some herbs to keep me calm, but I don't use any for the pain. AND I don't have to get many stitches because you're holding my hand and healing me before the doctor notices. When we go home, you heal me the rest of the way. We only have to let me stay stitched until we leave the hospital."_

_"Do we have to wait?"_

_"Yes. The doctor checks me before he discharges me. It wouldn't do any good to see me fully healed two days after delivery."_

_"I guess it wouldn't. What about Elena?"_

_"Damon will do the same thing once they get home."_

_"Rebekah?"_

_"Damon or you will probably heal her, but she'll be able to get an epidural if she wants one. The same goes for Kat and Bonnie. Matter of fact, I think you and Damon have to help Bonnie hold off from delivery for a couple weeks. So, I already called her and asked her to stay with us at the new house when we move in. I told her that it was to help with her pregnancy and she agreed without a hassle."_

_"Is that why you woke up before me?"_

_"Yea I had a dream. I saw two scenarios; either we help her and both of the babies are okay or we don't and neither of them makes it. I can't let that happen to her. I didn't tell her everything; just that it was important that we help her."_

_"Should we have Damon and Elena stay with us too?"_

_"That would probably help too. You and Damon are going to be really tired the next few months with having to keep up with all of us."_

_"Well it's kind of our responsibility, and we want to. The house is pretty much finished; it just has the finishing touches to work out. I'll call and have the guest rooms set up along with the baby room."_

_"I want us to do the baby room."_

_"Okay, then I'll just have the guest rooms set up. Damon is just finishing up, so why don't we go home and start on that food list?"_

_"Can we stop and get bacon-n-cheddar fries?"_

_"Yes love, we'll stop and get your fries. Do you want anything else from the grill?"_

_"I want their pudding pizza; the chocolate one."_

_"Anything else?"_

_"Just the blooming onion and some chicken wings."_

_"Is THAT everything?"_

_"Yes."_

_"Are you sure? I don't care to get everything you want."_

_"That's what I want for now. I'll make the list and let you get everything else later. You know having Bonnie with us is going to make you have to keep food for two pregnant women in the house."_

_"Yes I am aware, but Jeremy can make her write out the list for her, and we'll set up an extra fridge in the store room until the pregnancies are over." _He replied laughing. Caroline sat up to kiss him; she didn't stop until Damon cleared his throat. She gave him a look and leaned to whisper in Klaus' ear so Damon wouldn't hear her.

_"Food isn't the only thing I'm craving, so let's get out of here so we can get home." _She leaned back to look at him when she finished and he nodded. They said their goodbyes and left. Klaus called the grill and gave the order so it would be ready to pick up when they got there and he could get her home. They picked up the food and Klaus carried everything inside when they got home. He barely had it set down when Caroline grabbed him and pulled him to her. They ended up against the laundry room door. When Caroline noticed one of her neighbors in their backyard, she opened the laundry room door to pull them in so they couldn't be seen. Klaus lifted her on top of the washing machine while they stripped down.

By the time they exited the laundry room, they had to reheat the food and they noticed it was pretty late into the evening. They passed teasing remarks to each other while they ate and then Klaus too her upstairs so they could grab a shower. Caroline ended up seducing him while they were end there and they didn't leave until well after the water had turned cold. They dried themselves off and he made her lay down in the bed. She was lying on her back and he was resting his head on her chest with his hand running smoothly over her stomach.

_"I can feel him when I touch you."_

_"That's because you can read me."_

_"It's still amazing. I can't wait until you start to show."_

_"One, I can already see a difference; I look swelled or bloated. Two, I'm not looking forward to not seeing my feet."_

_"You'll still be beautiful to me, and I can't see a difference yet."_

_"You can when I'm standing up. I've gained like 5 pounds already."_

_"That's not a lot."_

_"No, but it is was when I was trying to keep it hidden. My jeans are snug on me. I'm going to have to let you take me shopping again."_

_"You want to go tomorrow?"_

_"No, I'll just order everything online and have them ship it to the new house. I don't want to walk around a store all day. You can help me pick out the clothes though."_

_"That sounds like a good deal to me love. What are you going to do about work?"_

_"Kat and I were talking before she knew I was pregnant and we were thinking about hiring a couple people over time. She said she was going to get someone hired for her so she could carry out her pregnancy at home. I guess she's going to make me do that too."_

_"You both need to rest. The bookstore will still be there when you two want to go back to work. I think you both will want to be home with the kids until they're older though."_

_"Yea we probably will. At least we're all pregnant together; we can have play dates and the kids can do stuff together as they grow up."_

_"There's like 4 months between you and the others though love; nearly 5 months from Kat and Bonnie."_

_"I know. But, they'll still grow up together. By the way, Kat and Bonnie will go into labor hours apart. Elena and Rebekah will do the same thing a couple weeks later."_

_"So there's going to be 5 kids that share two different days?"_

_"Yep and they'll all be spoiled rotten."_

_"How far have you seen?"_

_"Pretty far. I've seen all the way up to our third pregnancy. You don't want to know how many times we all get knocked up together." _She said with a laugh.

_"I can imagine; especially since 3 of you are subject to after ritual activities." _He said with a smirk and she kissed him. Things heated up pretty quickly between them before they carried on until almost midnight. When they finally went to bed, they were both hopeful for the future.

**4 months later**

Caroline and Klaus were in the kitchen when they got the call from Elijah that Katherine had gone into labor. They knew Bonnie would be starting soon, so they told her and Jeremy to ride with them to the hospital. Bonnie had said she didn't want to go, but Caroline told her that her labor was about to start too and they all quickly left. By the time Katherine was dilated to 7, Bonnie's labor started. The doctors took Bonnie to surgery to get the twins out safely. Shortly after the twins were born, Katherine pushed out her and Elijah's son. Everybody was there by then in the waiting room while waiting to take their turns seeing the new babies. Kol and Lena were looking at everything nervously since Lena found out she was pregnant one month prior; she was now 2 months along. Caroline and Klaus both reassured them that everything was fine and Caroline read Lena to see if there would be any problems. After finding none, Kol and Lena breathed in relief as they continued waiting. Caroline and Klaus decided to be the last ones to enter the rooms since they were the ones who were there first. Katherine and Elijah had named their son after Elijah and his father. Bonnie had named one of her daughters after Kat, Caroline, and Elena, while she named her other daughter after herself, her mother, and her grandmother.

When Katherine and Bonnie were discharged, Klaus and Damon offered to heal them so they wouldn't have to wait in pain as they healed naturally and they accepted. Bonnie still had the scar from her surgery, but it was completely healed. Both of the women were glad they had the option when they stopped feeling the cramps and stitches from the deliveries. Bonnie and Jeremy moved back into their home when Bonnie was healed, so Klaus and Caroline had their house back to themselves. Caroline spent most of her time in the baby room or her magic room. Klaus rarely left her side since she was starting to get pretty big and lost her balance easily. She was grateful that her morning sickness had stopped 2 months prior, but frustrated that her food cravings had increased.

**2 Weeks Later**

When Caroline and Klaus got the call from Damon that Elena had went into labor, they stopped on their way to pick up Stefan and Rebekah. Rebekah's water broke as soon as she stepped out of the car at the hospital. Since Klaus had to help Damon with Elena, Caroline went to help Stefan with Rebekah. Rebekah had decided to not get an epidural since Elena and Caroline didn't have a choice in the matter. Both babies were born minutes apart. Rebekah and Stefan named their daughter after their mothers, while Damon and Elena named their son after their fathers. Once again everybody was waiting in the waiting room when Klaus and Caroline came out to tell everyone about the babies. They didn't stay long after that since they had been in the rooms during the deliveries. They went home and waited until the girls were discharged to heal them. Both couples and the babies were at the boarding house until they were healed, before Stefan and Rebekah left to go to their own home.

By the end of the week, everybody wanted to throw Caroline her baby shower and start organizing Lena's. Caroline had been getting more and more tired, so they decided to throw the shower at her and Klaus' house. They shooed the men into another part of the house so they could throw the shower without them. Caroline had known since the beginning that she was having a boy, so she wasn't surprised when she was bombarded with tons of blue and green. They were trying to get her to tell them what the baby would look like and what they were naming him, but she refused to tell them. The only thing she would tell them was the date she would deliver. She was going to go into labor 2 weeks early, but everything was going to be fine because Klaus and Damon would both be there for the delivery.

Later that night, Klaus was watching her as she put everything up in the baby room. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her away from her task before making her sick in the rocking chair and taking over. She finally convinced him to let her fold the clothes before he put them up. He knew she was picky on her organizing, so he didn't argue for long. When they were finished, he sat down on the floor next to the rocker and looked around the room.

_"You did a good job painting everything. I really love the pictures you painted for him."_

_"Well love, I do remember a little blonde refusing to let me call a painter."_

_"Why call a painter, when only you could paint something with meaning for him?"_

_"I know love. I liked your idea of painting his heritage and mixing them with his abilities in the future."_

_"It's important that he knows them both. You know everyone was trying to get me to tell them his name?"_

_"I figured they would. I don't think they'll be surprised when they hear it; especially since everyone is naming their kids after family and friends."_

_"Yea I think it's good to name him after you and your brother."_

_"Do you know what Kol and Lena are having yet?"_

_"They're having a girl this time. They'll have a boy next time."_

_"There's going to be two little Kols running around?"_

_"They won't be that bad. They'll actually take more after their mother as far as personality goes, but they'll look just like Kol."_

_"Thank the gods! I don't think the world could have handled more Kols." _ He joked and she laughed.

_"So what will our child be like?"_

_"Which one?"_

_"All of them."_

_"I only know about two of them right now. We'll have a girl next time. Our son will have my hair and your face. Our daughter will have my face and your hair. I can't see past the third pregnancy, but I know it's a boy."_

_"I wonder why you can't see past that pregnancy."_

_"I don't know. It's probably because I'm tired and it's hard to use my magic right now. I'm sure I'll see it when I'm better."_

_"I'm sure you will too love. So, I guess I better start painting two more rooms before they sneak up on us. How long will it be?"_

_"Well we'll get pregnant with our daughter about a year after our son is born. About 5 years from now is when I'm pregnant with the next one. The only way I found those out was by looking at calendars in the visions. But, I do remember the conversations from them; we don't have to worry about birth control anymore."_

_"I like that thought love."_

_"So do I. Also, this child's strongest ability will be healing, and our daughter's will be premonitions."_

_"I figured as much for this one, but I got to say it doesn't surprise me that our daughter will have visions. They sound like they'll be strong."_

_"They will be and they'll have their abilities awakened before they're even born. I'll have to go into our daughter's head when she gets one. You won't do it though; I've already seen that."_

_"Alright. Well let's get you something to eat and then I'll give you a massage."_

_"Sounds good to me." _ She answered as she let him help her up out of the chair. She couldn't believe she had about 3 ½ months left to go. She already felt like she was going to explode from gaining about 35 lbs. She tried to not think about how big she would be by the end, but she already she had about 15 more pounds to go and that she would barely be able to walk around without knocking something over.

**Delivery**

True to her visions, Caroline went into labor on the day she said she would. All that day Klaus refused to leave her side and jumped every time she moved or went to talk. She couldn't keep from laughing at him when he would jump and he would tease her in return. During one of her laughing fits, she grabbed her stomach and grit her teeth. Klaus was at her side in an instant, picking her up and carrying her to the car. He called Damon during the drive so he would meet him there. They only had minor problems getting the doctor to allow Damon in there with her and Klaus, but Caroline threatened to inflict as much pain as she was feeling on the doctor if he wasn't. The doctor begrudgingly agreed and let him stay. Damon made sure to not look down past her face, but Klaus kept looking over her everywhere. She was holding onto both of their hands to squeeze through the pain, as they were using the contact to help her along with the birth. When she finally pushed the baby out, her head fell back. Klaus was focusing on healing her so she wouldn't have to get many stitches when the doctor let him cut the cord. Damon was focusing on sending her energy since she was about to pass out. Damon left when the doctor wrapped the baby up and handed him to Caroline, saying he would let everyone know they were okay.

Caroline followed the vision after the doctor left and read their son. After letting Klaus know all of the abilities she found, they let the baby sleep and she went to lie back down. She told Klaus to go tell everyone his name and to get her something to eat. He did as she requested and came back in smiling with her food when he noticed she was sleeping. So, he put her food down and looked over at his son.

_"Hey there little Nik. I can't wait to take you and your mother home so you can see your room. Mommy made me paint it myself, so I hope you like it. You have no idea how much it means to me that you and your mother are here now. I almost lost you both before I even knew you existed. That won't happen again. I'm going to make sure that you, your future siblings, and your mother are so spoiled that you never have need to complain about anything."_

_"Really Klaus? You already spoil me." _Caroline joked in a soft voice with a smile.

_"Well I think I can spoil you more."_

_"Leave the spoiling to the kids. You're already enough for me."_

_"How are you feeling?"_

_"I'm still tired, but I feel better. How did everyone react when you told them his name?"_

_"Well they weren't surprised with Niklaus being his first name; they kind of expected that. However, they had all made bets on the middle name. When I told them Henrik, Kol stood up and started doing his victory dance; he was the only one who bet on Henrik."_

_"Now I'm surprised. Nobody else chose Henrik, so I figured they would have all bet on us giving him that name."_

_"I guess that thought it would be too painful for me since I was the closest one too him."_

_"That just gives you more reason to do it."_

_"I know. I was happy that you suggested it. I was worried about how you would feel about it."_

_"Well, then you'll be happy to know our daughter already has a name for her."_

_"Really? What is it?"_

_"Elizabeth Rebekah. And her nickname will be Lizzie."_

_"What about our next son? Do you know his name?"_

_"William Thomas after my father and my mother's brother."_

_"I like their names. Have you seen past the pregnancy yet?"_

_"No, I don't know when I will. I'll let you know when I do."_

_"Alright. Here's your food." _He said, offering her the tray with a burger and fries.

They spent the rest of the time in the hospital being visited constantly by friends and family. Most of it was normal until Katherine and Elijah showed up and Caroline told her that she was pregnant again. Katherine looked like she was going to faint so Elijah took the baby from her and she sat down. After Caroline repeatedly telling her that she was sure, Katherine finally believed her. Caroline told her that she would have a girl this time and to start stocking up on girl stuff before they all started laughing. Katherine ended up taking out her phone and calling everyone to let them know the news before her and Elijah left to run down to the clinic to get it official.

When Caroline was discharged, Klaus refused to wait until they got home to heal her and finished her up in the parking lot. Caroline was glad she didn't have to feel the stitches anymore, and she could focus on losing the weight she had gained from the pregnancy. When they got home, they took little Nik up to his room and put him in his crib. They both stood there gazing at him as he slept before walking next door to their room with the monitor. With the perks of being healed, Caroline wasted no time in stripping them down and taking advantage of the baby sleeping. They laid there after just resting and enjoying holding each other until they heard little Nik wake up. They smiled at each other and got dressed quickly to get to the baby. Caroline ran downstairs to make his bottle while Klaus went to change him during their wait. When Caroline came into the room, Klaus handed her their baby and she sat in the rocker to feed him. Klaus had brought another rocking chair into the room a couple weeks prior and took his seat to watch them. In that moment, everything was perfect for them.


	28. Chapter 28

**Epilogue (5 Years Later)**

Caroline knew it was almost time for their third child to be born, but she still couldn't see the delivery. She had the birth narrowed down to a three day period and it was day 1. Klaus had been pacing around the house nervous since she didn't have any visions of them past her going into labor. She kept telling him that she thought the baby was blocking the visions, but he was still scared for them. He went to help little Nik with putting up art supplies while Lizzie was playing in front of Caroline. Lizzie looked up at her mother with a smile and walked to her. When she climbed up next to Caroline, she grabbed her mother's hand and Caroline got sucked into a vision.

She saw herself in a room at the hospital with the doctors cutting her open to get the baby out. She saw that her son would be fine as they handed him over to the nurse, but Caroline was losing too much blood. She saw them working on her and cutting things out of her before she heard them say they were losing her. She saw Klaus and Damon burst through the door, followed by Stefan. Stefan was the one who was using persuasion on the doctors as Klaus and Damon were working on healing her. She saw them both talking as they tried to coordinate their moves to get everything fixed. She only saw her color improving and her vitals picking back up when she and Lizzie came out of the vision. As soon as he vision ended, Caroline leaned over in pain and screamed.

Klaus came running to her with little Nik in his arms and saw her passed out on the couch. Lizzie ran over and pulled him to her and put his hand on her mother's stomach. Klaus dialed Damon's number and handed the phone to his son, telling him to tell Damon to get everybody and come to the hospital and to get his sister's hand. The children listened to their father as he carried their mother to the car. When she was secured, he opened the door to let Nik crawl across to his seat and buckle up, while he picked up Lizzie and fastened her into her seat. Then he grabbed his phone back from Nik and called Rebekah.

_"Bekah please tell me you're near the hospital."_

_"I'm already on my way. All of us were at the grill when you called Damon. What's wrong?"_

_"I don't know for sure. Caroline is passed out and she's in labor. I heard her scream, but when I came downstairs she was out. I have the kids with me. I need you to get them out of the car and watch them while I carry Caroline in."_

_"Of course Nik. What do we do after?"_

_"I don't know yet. Just watch the kids for me. I think something's very wrong. She still hasn't seen past the beginning of her labor and that's passed now."_

_"Okay, we're pulling in now. When you pull in, I'll be at the door. Elena will take my kids with her and I'll park your car and get little Nik and Lizzie inside."_

_"Okay. I'm less than 5 minutes away now. Just wait for me."_

_"See you Nik." _He heard before he hung up and pushed on the accelerator. A couple minutes later his pulled into the hospital and put the car in park. He released his seatbelt and Caroline's as Rebekah was running to his door. He jumped out and ran around. He barely got the door closed before Rebekah pulled away to park the car and he ran inside. The doctors were waiting on him with the gurney because Damon had told them they were coming. Klaus reached up and pulled his hair in worry and started to pace with the doctor's initial analysis. When he heard them say she was going to have to have an emergency C-section, he started crying. Stefan went to tell the others and Damon had to hold Klaus back from following her into the surgery room. The doctor had told them that nobody could go in and Klaus broke down. When he looked up, everybody was watching him. He sat on the ground as Lizzie grabbed Stefan and pulled him to where Damon was and grabbed his hand. She led them both to her father and pulled them down. Klaus noticed that she was trying to communicate with them and spoke up.

_"What is it Lizzie? Sweetheart, did you see something."_

_"Help mommy." _She urged. She started pushing the three of them to surgery doors repeating the same words.

_"Stefan, use your powers to persuade the doctors out of there or to at least not pay attention to us. Damon I think we're going to have to heal her." _He said as he saw the nurse coming out of the room with his son. They ran up to the door when they heard the doctor yell that they were losing her. Damon told Klaus to focus before they burst into the room. Stefan quickly stepped up to the doctors and had them face away from Caroline and the guys. He persuaded them to believe that they were the ones who fixed her and that he, Damon, and Klaus had not come into the room. While the doctors were frozen in place, Stefan walked over to Klaus and Damon and watched as they worked on her. He looked around and saw all of the blood that had pooled up on her and the floor before reaching to grab a bag that the doctor had ready for her and finished connecting it to her IV. When he was sure the blood was going into her, he looked back to see Klaus begging her to fight just a little longer. He knew they were almost done with closing off the bleeding because the blood had stopped flowing over. Stefan reached over to push the skin on her stomach to where it should be as they heard her heart trying to skip. All 3 of them focused on sending her energy and her heart. When it started leveling out, they looked back to her to see the color coming back to her face. Stefan stepped over to the doctor to have him close the cut on her stomach so they could finish healing her. When the cut was closed, Klaus and Damon went back to healing her the rest of the way. When they were done, Klaus took over and focused on waking her up.

Caroline woke up with a gasp and looked around. She saw Klaus, Damon, and Stefan standing over her while the doctors was all gathered with their backs to her. She knew the vision that Lizzie had shown her had already happened and she looked back to Klaus.

_"Lizzie?" _She whispered and he nodded.

_"Why didn't you tell me?" _Klaus asked while crying.

_"I didn't know until it happened. I was watching Lizzie play when she came to sit with me. She pulled me into a vision of this, and when I came out I felt the contractions. The only thing I could do was scream. Then I got really dizzy and I guess I passed out. I would have said something if I had known. I was going to say something when she showed me, but I didn't get a chance to." _She explained while crying. She was still in pain from everything and it hurt to try and talk.

_"Are you alright love?"_

_"I feel like I'm on fire. Everything hurts so much."_

_"I think I know why." _Damon spoke up. _"One, you're having to receive blood. Two, I'm sorry to tell you this, but they gave you a hysterectomy before we got in her. We had to close of the blood vessels to get you to stop the bleeding. The pain should pass soon, but I'll go get the herbs we brought so they can help."_

_"Thank you Damon. Thank you Stefan." _Klaus said as he looked back down to Caroline. She was saddened with the news, but she didn't let it devastate her. She was thankful that they were able to have three children before this happened. Remembering she hadn't seen her new child, she spoke up.

_"What about William? Is he okay?"_

_"We haven't checked yet, but I'm sure he's fine. When we get the blood off of us, Stefan will persuade the doctors to believe they did everything and to take you to your room. We'll go check on him for you and see if they'll let you see him." _Klaus answered as the guys walked over to the sink and washed the blood of their hands. They didn't know what they would do about the blood on their clothes, but after Stefan spoke to the doctors, they opened the door to see Katherine standing there. They followed her a couple doors down to the bathroom and handed them each a shirt.

_"Lizzie wouldn't stop until I brought you guys these. How's Caroline? Is she alive? Is she okay?" _Katherine asked with tears in her eyes and her lips trembling. Klaus had heard through the open door and stepped out in a clean shirt to answer her.

_"She alive; she's in pain, but she's going to be okay. Have you seen William?"_

_"Who?"_

_"The baby."_

_"You named him William?"_

_"Yes. Have you seen him?"_

_"No, but the nurse came out and told Elijah and Rebekah that he's fine. She was looking for you, but they told her that you were pacing near surgery."_

_"Thanks." _He answered as he walked away towards the nursery. When he got to the window, he looked through to see if he could see the baby. The nurse noticed him and asked him which baby he was looking for. He answered her and she pointed to the baby they were weighing. She told him that he would be done in a few minutes and that she would bring him to Caroline's room, but everything appeared fine so far. He thanked her and went to look for Caroline's room. Damon was coming out of her room after bringing her a tea mixed with herbs for pain. Klaus walked into the room to see her gulping down the tea with her face scrunched up in pain.

_"Where's William? Is he okay?" _She asked when she noticed him.

_"He's fine. The nurse is bringing him in a few minutes. You need to lie down and rest."_

_"I'll be fine, I want to see him."_

_"I know you do love, but you're still in pain and not completely healed."_

_"Fine, I'll lay down until he comes." _She offered, but he shook his head.

_"You'll stay laid down and I'll hand him to you. I don't want you to move until you're home and completely healed."_

_"I can barely hold him if I lay down."_

_"Then I'll adjust the bed to give you a better angle. Your back will not rise from that bed unless you have to go to the bathroom."_

_"Fine."_

_"I'm just trying to make sure you're alright. I almost lost you AGAIN."_

_"I know and I told you I tried to tell you, but I couldn't. I didn't know until it was too late to say anything. It isn't like I knew and purposely didn't tell you this time."_

_"I know love. I know. I'm not saying that. I just can't stand seeing you like that."_

_"I know you can't. When I was out of it I saw something. It all went really fast, but I can say that this is the last time you ever have to see me like that."_

_"I didn't see anything when I was healing you."_

_"I was too far out of it. I saw my mother though. She said it's over now. We get to live our lives now. No more danger or pain after this."_

_"Which mother? The one from this life or the first one?"_

_"The first one. We've done everything we were supposed to do. The only thing left is to live. We broke the cycle completely. The rest of our lives and the lives after, if we choose them, will be peaceful. Now it's time for our happily ever after." _She finished with s teary smile. Klaus bent his head to rest their foreheads together when they heard the door open. They looked and saw William being rolled into the room. When the nurse left, everyone took their turns coming to see the new baby and brought little Nik and Lizzie in with them. Klaus looked at his two older children and bent down to talk to them.

_"Do you guys know how special you are?" _He asked softly. They looked at him waiting on him to continue and he chuckled. _"Little Nik, you saved your mother when you were just a tiny little spot inside of her tummy. Lizzie, you saved your mother and little brother today when you pushed us to them. You kids and your mother are the best thing that has ever happened to me. We're going to go on from this and you kids are going to see the world and everything it has to offer. Where do you guys want to start?"_

_"Disneyland!" _Nik yelled and Lizzie laughed.

_"When mommy gets better we'll go. I'll take you guys on the best rides and Lizzie can meet the princesses. What do you say to everybody going?" _He asked and watched as they jumped up and down with giggles and little yells. He quieted them down before turning back to Caroline and William. _"What do you say love? Care for a little trip to Florida with everybody?"_

_"You have some serious healing to do first, and let me at least get back into a bathing suit before we go." _She asked with a laugh. He laughed with her and nodded. He sat down in the chair next to her bed and pulled Nik and Lizzie into his lap while Caroline was resting in the bed with Henry in her arms. Later Klaus made arrangements for the kids to stay with Rebekah for the first night and Elijah for the second night of Caroline's hospital stay. He didn't want to leave her side. During the hospital stay, he kept healing her in intervals. By the time, she was discharged, Stefan had to return and persuade the doctors to believe that had healed as normal as other C-section patients instead of fully healed with a scar. Caroline was glad the scar wasn't too big and her bathing suit would cover most of it. She knew it wouldn't take but a couple months to get back into shape, but she wasn't looking forward to working out so much. She knew the change was because she was almost 31 instead of her old self, but it didn't matter. She missed being so energetic, but she wouldn't trade her family for anything. It was a fair trade in her eyes.

Klaus, Caroline, and Henry walked through the doors of their home to see everyone there waiting on them. They saw the banner with William's name on it and all of the kids running around chasing each other. Caroline reluctantly let everyone have a turn holding William during the welcome home party, but she wanted to give some attention to Nik and Lizzie too. Lizzie didn't want her mother to put her down, so she pulled her into a vision that showed her what their lives would be like. She saw each child grow, find their mates, and have their own children before she was pulled out. Caroline smiled at her daughter and looked to Klaus. She gave him one of her brightest smiles and he just leaned in to kiss her. Caroline put Lizzie on one knee so she could hold William when he was passed back to her.

Later that night, after everyone had left, Klaus and Caroline were tucking the kids into bed when Caroline decided to read William to find out what abilities he had. She kissed Nik and Lizzie goodnight before grabbing Klaus' hand and leading him to William's room. She closed her eyes and focused on her son.

_"He's able to control all of the elements."_

_"So he gets to make little fireballs?"_

_"That and more. The three of them together have every ability there is."_

_"I wouldn't expect them to be any different."_

_"So you still wish you could make the fireballs?"_

_"Yes, that was the first thing you showed me. But, I'm glad at least one of the kids received that gift."_

_"I still can't believe we did it."_

_"I know. Sometimes I find myself thinking that this has all been a dream and it's going to be taken away at any moment."_

_"You're not dreaming. This is all real and it's not going away." _She said as she turned his head to look at her. _"I love you."_

_"I love you too sweetheart." _He replied and kissed her softly. She smiled into the kiss and led him out of William's room and into theirs. As they shut the door to their room and wrapped their arms around each other, they wrapped their arms around each other and were happy to be able to have that feeling to follow them for the rest of their lives.

**THE END**


End file.
